At the beginning of this year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) started applying a 7% penalty to all reimbursements for Computed Radiography (CR) exams.
By all accounts, this hasn’t led to the widespread exodus away from CR systems that CMS was likely hoping would have taken place. According to research from the Advisory Board and the Association for Medical Imaging Equipment, 78% of survey respondents were still relying on CR imaging systems as of last July.
A few things to note about these statistics:
All of these things are true, but they miss an underlying point: the industry is moving toward digital radiography, and it’s going to become harder and harder to keep your X-ray program financially viable as time moves on. In five years, the penalty will increase to 10%, making computed radiography unsustainable for many facilities.
Here are a few of the ways you can approach the conversion to digital X-ray if you haven’t yet made the move.
This might be the right move for some hospitals, but the number of such facilities dwindles every year. You may analyze your financial reports and come to the conclusion that, even with the 7% hit to reimbursement, it still makes sense to stick with CR.
I would caution against remaining on this path for much longer. Not only will it continue to strain your bottom line, but you’re going to start risking a loss of patients if you haven’t experienced that decline in volume already. Digital X-ray provides a much more expedient imaging process and, given the trend toward consumerism in imaging, don’t be surprised if patients take a closer look at their options and visit the imaging center that’s using the most recent technology.
Think of it this way: there’s a reason the government has provided incentives to abandon CR and embrace DR. The entire reason for this switch is to provide a better diagnostic situation for the facility and a better experience for the patient. Put simply, the switch to DR is about improved episodes of care.
Thus, I would urge you to start giving consideration to the other options that are out there.
When all of this is taken together, you can begin to see how the transition to digital makes more financial sense than is perhaps apparent on the surface. But if you’re still not able to make that leap, even after crunching all the numbers, there’s one more option to consider.
Here’s how it works: a vendor installs equipment that converts an existing unit into a wireless, digital solution that meets the specifications required to avoid the reimbursement penalty. This enables you to keep your current equipment, but it also has the advantage of tapping you into remote maintenance, improved workflows and outstanding digital imaging.
Siemens Healthineers has a retrofit solution called the ArtPix EZ2GO. Appropriate for both CR and analog X-ray equipment, the ArtPix EZ2GO has one additional benefit as well: it’s the perfect bridge to newer, fully digital X-ray systems once you’re ready to make the leap. You won’t have to get rid of it once you take that step either; it can integrate immediately with the other Siemens X-ray systems.
And if you don’t currently have a Siemens Healthineers system, that’s okay too, because it’s possible to install the ArtPix EZ2GO on other vendors’ equipment.
The Choice Is Yours
Those are your three main choices at this crucial juncture and, honestly, the first option is more of a short-term choice. You’re better off deciding between an outright upgrade or a retrofit solution. Doing so will ensure your reimbursement security in the future and help improve the experience for both patients and providers.
Let me know if you have any questions, and best of luck making the choice that’s right for you!