What's happening in the so-called war between out-patient radiology and "Red River"? Seems as if the imaging center wins by default. This is not an exclusively Parisian situation, but it does impact the financial health of the hospital.
Typically, studies help spread the fixed costs of a department. When the number of studies for the hospital day shift is only 50 or 60, the result is a net loss per exam. Right now, they should be coming into their heavier census period, but if out-patient studies continue to go down, that won't help them.
What is the solution? For Essent, the automatic solution is to cut staff, one of the largest costs. How does that affect the new graduates appearing in December? It can cut in several direction: Hire the top guns in the new class, paying them entry level, and raise the performance bar to the existing technologists, hoping attrition would create openings and lose some of the higher paid staff? Or not hire any FTEs (Full-Time Employees), merely keep a supply of PRNs on tap to fill the peak periods through May. Or, just cut staff.
However, the solution may be taken away from them. The new class has been working in several different clinical settings, and has seen the differences in facilities. They might opt out of the PRMC setting for other markets, should that be viable for their situation.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Turf War...1/9
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7 comments:
So the hopital is courting a new radiologist... Maybe thay should check his background... Palestine...boot!Amarillo...boot!Tyler...boot! Colorado...??? Paris????? Another great moment for E$$ent! Keep up the good work! RRVR won't have to work too hard to compete. Fortunate for them!
I heard that last week, the PACS was down again--and a lung CT, checking for a pulmonary emboli, sat for over 4 hours before the report was given. To top it all, apparently a tech had to go pick up the on-call radiologist to bring him in to read the study! Guess they provide Taxi service as well!
Really strange, I was just on the phone...to the person that had that CT! She mentioned that she had had a bumpy time at PRMC, and that her CT had gotten lost. I had just read the 11:10 comment and read it back to her. She said yep, that was her, and half the study was lost, and the report as well.
She was in with respiratory difficulties, and she found mold under the countertop in her room!
And said that the hospital was filthy!
Man, I'm glad I'm out of there!
---ex-PRMC employee---
Wonder what radiology is going to do with the new cuts to imaging? If reimbursements are less, won't payscales fall as well? Here's a sample....
Looks like radiology is not the going field unless things change back a bit. How's that going to affect the RR boyz...and just think about the disparity between the hospital locums and what's to be collected....frank
Sorry, I just can't let this post die. Not yet.
The mistake that they made with the radiologists continues to be underestimated. They have now lost most of the outpatient business and with Red River they were partners for 50%. Now all the doctors send to the imaging center if they can. Also they're having to pay locum radiologists so that they can read the xrays from the ER no-pay patients. When the locum radiologists screw up, the patient goes to see their own doctor who sends them to the imaging center for new images because they don't have any confidence in the reports from Paris Regional. Happens all the time.
It's amazing! It truly is. The imaging center's best friend is Paris Regional because no one has confidence in studis performed at Paris Regional.
Also, patients MUCH prefer to go to Salas Minor if possible rather than the emergency room. Salas Minor's best friend is Paris Regional.
The more these expert, Einstein administrators "fix" things at Paris Regional, the more money they put in their competitors pockets.
So guys, speaking from a purely business standpoint, if dishonesty, and trying to take advantage of everyone in the community isn't working, why not try a new approach? Why not try being honest, fair, and cooperative?
Oh yeah, now there's a pipe dream, Essent has no intention, nor desire for honesty and the litany of respectable adjectives that usually follow and couple with "honesty", they are simply here to reap the dollar$. Plain and simple. If they truly cared about HEALTHCARE, they would've followed a more sane AND caring business model. Lest we forget, "FOR PROFIT" is their motto. We all know that the above CAN be accomplished, but it has to be practiced with a decent, respectable, caring credo. NOT in Essent's glossary, nor capabilities of practice!
Note to Essent:You don't know the first damn thing about running a hospital! The medical staff knows it,the community knows it,everybody for miles around knows it. GET OUT! You have made both a mockery and a travesty of healthcare in our once fine hospital...Oh,and take Cheryl Perry with you!
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