Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

Thursday, July 12

7:00 AM – 8:00 AM
Continental Breakfast

8:00 AM – 9:30 AM
Breakout Sessions

PACS: Innovating Best-Fit Solutions for System Administration

Leonard S. Avecilla, MS

Credits: 1.5

In most settings, the scope and role of PACS administration is enlarging. Planning for data-intensive modalities, integrating additional “-ologies,” and more penetrating information interfaces to the community all increase the challenge of appointing the right system administrator. Optimizing his/her access to professional development and educational resources in order to accommodate broader expertise requirements can be challenging. Thoughtful integration to an organization’s planning mechanisms (relative to expansion and enterprise-wide management of the informatics project) is of value. Various assessments, conducted periodically, can also assist in defining specific requirements of the admin role, how to distribute responsibilities, recruiting incremental support staff, and strategies for continuing education and other performance supports. This presentation outlines strategies for best matching people to the requirements, and matching strategies for professional development to those people. The presenters will address select and current challenges, and presents solution described by innovators who have created and implemented them.

You will learn to:

• Assess and combine the findings of pre-deployment or ongoing PACS stakeholder groups to write a best-fit, needs-based position description.
• Evaluate candidate qualifications, and to what extent they satisfy the currently specified, or even future requirements, of a PACS administrator position.
• Project and prioritize, based on institutional plans, what evolving requirements may influence performance, and how to structure professional development pathways to moderate these influences.

How Will Your Department Respond in a Disaster?

John H. Clouse, MSR, RT(R)
Owensboro Community and Technical College, Owensboro, KY

Credits: 1.5

How will your department respond in a time of disaster? Lay aside the emergency response guide that every office has and look over your most valuable and most fragile resource, your staff. So what happens if your staff member can’t make it in? What happens if they wind up stuck on the road or across town in a shelter? In times of crisis we all tend to fall back on the training that we’ve collected over the years. So what have you been teaching your staff? Do they know how to prepare their families to be ready? Have you helped them to learn how to assist their family members to respond when they are at the hospital working? Are your staff members good “medical citizens” of their local community? If they find themselves at an emergency shelter are they equipped to assist their friends and neighbors, or will they melt into the faceless sea of evacuees? Do you provide opportunities for them to learn or practice basic medical skills? Do they have the tools necessary to be a helping hand in the time of need? The goal of this session is to stimulate your thought process and to get you thinking of creative and not so creative ways of educating your staff so that when a crisis comes they’ll have the preparation and practice to face it.

You will learn to:

• Help your department staff prepare their families to cope with disasters.
• Prepare your staff to be better medical citizens in their local communities.
• Help your staff prepare a basic care kit.

A Ticket to the Magic Kingdom: The Keys to Successful Budget Creation and Defense

Jason Newmark, BA, MHA
Stamford Hospital, Stamford, CT

David Sack, BS, CRA, FAHRA
Stamford Hospital, Stamford, CT

Credits: 1.5

Welcome to management, your budget is due in a week! The annual budgeting process can be one of the most challenging endeavors that a new (and even the most seasoned veteran) radiology manager will face. Some win and some lose the fight. There are complex financial and historical performance data to evaluate, pressure from hospital administration to control, and in some cases, to cut costs, and the challenge of preparing the budget while continuing to manage all other ongoing projects and day-to-day operations. This is a very daunting task! However, with the right tools and right mindset, budget preparation can actually be a relatively straightforward and rewarding process. In fact, you will likely garner a much clearer picture of how your department is actually performing, as well as identify which strategic initiatives are of the highest priority for the upcoming year. This session will cover the three major categories of the budget process, including FTE modeling, projecting operational expenses, and planning for capital expenditures. The presenters will review each category through specific case studies and will provide attendees with actual tools/models that you will be able to bring back with you to assist in your own budgeting efforts. Both seasoned and non-seasoned managers are encouraged to attend and participate in open discussion regarding their own experiences and challenges.

You will learn to:

• Eliminate the intimidation factor associated with the budgeting process.
• Prepare and justify a budget for major and minor operational and capital expenses.
• Justify FTE levels.
• Defend your budget recommendations with quality data and clarity.

2007 Documentation Requirements for CPT® & ICD-9 Compliance

Cheryl A. Schad, BA Ed, CPC, ACS-RA
Schad Medical Management, Mullica Hill, NJ

Credits: 1.5
This session is generously sponsored by Schad Medical Management.

In this session, attendees will learn what radiologists need to include in their written interpretations of radiological studies in order to receive appropriate reimbursement. The speaker will review the rules and regulations concerning the ordering of diagnostic tests, clinical indications, medical necessity, documentation of diagnostic tests, and the National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI). An “order” will be defined and the form of an order and the exceptions to ordering regulations will be discussed. Medical necessity, how it is impacted by clinical indications, and how it should be expressed will be covered. Participants will also learn how to document multiple studies within the same radiology report. The General Instructions for CMS’s NCCI Edits will be discussed as they pertain to radiology. The presenter will also discuss how to achieve compliance with various regulatory agencies.

You will learn to:

• Recognize appropriate documentation for accurate CPT® code selection.
• Recognize appropriate documentation for accurate ICD-9 selection.
• Achieve CPT® and ICD-9 compliance.

Idiosyncrasies of Marketing to Doctors: Use Them to Your Advantage

Mary Ann Waldron, MBA
Traction Business Development, LLC, Fallston, MD

Kurt Snyder, MBA
Traction Business Development, LLC, Fallston, MD

Credits: 1.5
This session is generously sponsored by Traction Business Development, LLC.

Have you sent a postcard and convinced yourself you launched an effective direct mail campaign? Doctors respond to direct mail, e-mail, direct-response television and radio just like you and I do. What’s different is the time and timing of these offers, as many doctors “consume” direct offers quite differently than other business owners. There’s B2C (Business to Consumer), B2B (Business to Business) direct marketing, and there is B2D (Business to Doctor) marketing. This session will help participants acknowledge, understand and leverage the differences to their advantage. This session may challenge audience thinking about face-time with decision makers and gatekeepers. As chaotic as the life of the doctor’s office gatekeeper may be, these individuals are still consumers who react to messages when delivered at the right time through the right medium. The session will reveal tips to break through gatekeeper barriers and distinguish field marketing liaisons from pharmaceutical detail reps. The session will provide the path to removing the “sales” aspect of the solicitation, and share techniques to generate appointments. Through thorough review of multiple case studies, participants will clearly see pitfalls to avoid and convincing methods to employ. Nuances will be spelled out and a check list provided. Whether the participant needs an extreme makeover or a modest alteration to their communication continuum, this session's instructors will deliver actionable and meaningful advice.

You will learn to:

• Incorporate the voice of physician colleagues.
• Surround your target physician market with messages that cause your proposition to be top of mind.
• Include the 10 things you must do to effectively reach your audience.

10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Breakout Sessions

“Cliff Notes” for an Effective Radiation Safety Program

Emily M. Blomenberg, BS, CRA, RT(R)
Morristown-Hamblen HealthCare System, Morristown, TN

Credits: 1.0
This session repeats on Thursday at 10:00 AM.

The radiation safety program is one of the most fundamentally important responsibilities of today’s radiology administrator. Unfortunately, the duties are usually overlooked and/or handed off to the radiation safety officer or a lead technologist. Often times, the nuclear medicine department leads this task. As we all know, radiation safety should occur in all areas of radiology, not just nuclear medicine. Yet, many administrators are required by their facility to plan, administer, and maintain the radiation safety program. Do you have it all covered? As the cornerstone of our profession, the ALARA principle is embedded into every radiation safety program. Take a walk down memory lane as this session reminds you of the core issues surrounding radiation safety today.

You will learn to:

• Enforce radiation safety principles.
• Identify elements of an effective radiation safety program.
• Implement documents to ensure accurate tracking of exposures.
• Discuss best practice radiation safety guidelines with your staff.

Improving Operations: A Small Practice with Big Changes

Alicia Vasquez, CRA, RT
Arcadia Radiology Medical Group, Arcadia, CA

Credits: 1.0

When a new CFO comes in and requests accountability where do you turn? You begin to explore areas to improve. You have always felt you run a tight ship even though you had “old” systems, but do you? Your equipment is state of the art, are the rest of your operations? Hear how one small practice made big changes. This case study follows a Southern California group who went from dummy terminals, redundant paper processes, and very high billing costs to a billing and imaging center that many would now judge as a “best practice.” This session will help you ask the same challenging questions and not be afraid of the answers. It will also help give you ideas for your own process improvements.

You will learn to:

• Discover how the transformation began with a new distributed workflow for the physicians and technologists.
• Understand how one group looked at their billing efficiencies and after evaluating the pros and cons of outsourcing to an outside billing service, the physicians decided to keep the billing in-house and invested funds to make this as state of the art as their imaging equipment.
• Observe what happened in three to four years as this practice underwent a tremendous operational transformation.

Going Digital: It’s About the Workflow, Not the Technology

Dawn Klinglesmith, BSRT(R)(CV)
Oregon Medical Group, Eugene, OR

Credits: 1.0

When facilities think of going digital, they usually focus on the technology. Vendor and equipment evaluations are certainly an important part of this process, but the most significant aspect is often overlooked: your team and your new digital workflow. Installing new technology does not automatically create efficient digital processes. The speaker will share her experience of working with a third party to conduct several workflow studies that mapped out current and desired future processes and identified the amount of time and money that could be saved. The speaker’s company then used these recommendations to design new digital workflows. The speaker will also discuss how to get employees both excited about, and involved in, redesigning these processes.

You will learn to:

• Help design and conduct successful workflow studies.
• Design an internal team and motivate them to embrace new technology.
• Create an environment to maximize the productivity/workflow advantages from the implementation of new digital imaging and information management systems.

Using One PET/CT for Multiple Functions

Stephen Spearing, CRA, RT(R)
Lewistown Hospital, Lewistown, PA

Credits: 1.0

The presenter will use his facility’s PET/CT experience to share: the technology investigation, the approval process and proforma, planning and installation, education of technical staff and physicians, marketing to referring physicians, and unusual preventive maintenance pitfalls. The presenter will describe and share how to set-up and run an over read system until your interpreting physician’s learning curve has matured, as well as the turf battle over control of the PET/CT images. The speaker will also discuss a solution to the NOPR (National Oncology PET Registry) effects and their PET Alzheimer’s program design and experiences. The presenter will discuss the multiple uses of the institution’s ONLY PET/CT unit.

You will learn to:

• Develop the decision package for the purchase of multi-functional PET/CT unit.
• Design a plan to train multiple technical personnel (CT, Nuclear Medicine, Radiation Oncology) and respective physicians.
• Design an over read coverage until the expertise of the interpreting physicians has matured.
• Plan for a smooth installation and smooth operation to include preventive maintenance of the new unit.
• Design and implement an initial marketing campaign and an ongoing multi-faceted marketing plan.
• Minimize the turf battles between radiology and cardiology for the use of the equipment.

Easing the Change Process: Facilitating Transition Management in Radiology

Charles M. Washington, MBA, RT(T), FASRT
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX

Credits: 1.0

Change is seldom an easy process, particularly in the ever-evolving practices of radiology and radiologic technology. Faced with introduction of new technologies and greater competition of services provided, the radiologic technology practitioner has to learn quickly to stay ahead of the change curve. This lecture will identify the dynamics of transition management and preparation for changing work environments. Areas of exploration will be inclusive of the necessary processes to bring about any desired change. Overcoming employee apprehension and building opportunity for inclusion and buy-in are essential parts of the transition process and will be fully explored. Further, in preparing for any transition, a systematic approach is very important in planning for success. The areas of specific focus include analyzing the organization and its need for change, creating a shared vision and common direction, separation from the past, and creation of a sense of urgency. To be successful, supporting a strong leadership role and lining up political sponsorship is essential. Developing essential enabling structures and programming along with communication essentials will also be an area of discussion. The talk will explore the traits and skills required of change agents and how leadership can establish and define opportunities for a smooth transition.

You will learn to:

• Explore the dynamics and components of necessary, planned transitions, particularly expressed through the evolution of Radiologic Technology practice.
• Define the targets of the change and transition process.
• Understand the process of transition and change resistance.

11:15 AM – 2:00 PM
Closing Luncheon and Keynote

The Best Way to Predict the Future is to Create It

Scott Friedman

Credits: 1.0

In these turbulent, uncertain, globally competitive times, innovation and resourcefulness are essential to survival. The health care business changes every day. The future is uncertain, and we need the proper tools to face it. This renowned program is fast-paced, humorous, and full of useable ideas on becoming a victor of change instead of a victim. Learn to create an environment that fosters creativity and team spirit. Participants come away feeling better about themselves, their responsibilities, and their roles in the future. Treat them to a grand “shot in the arm” loaded with needed tools for creating the futures they want!

You will learn to:

• Develop perspective of seeing challenges as “course corrections” rather than “catastrophes.”
• Create a work environment that encourages and fosters creativity.
• Develop a competitive advantage using your uniquenes
• Operate your “GPS” (Gotta Play Some).
• Convert change into opportunities for growth.

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday