The LA Times takes a closer look. Cost certainly plays a role:
Right now, the practice is not so much about saving money as sparing staff radiologists calls around the clock, Bradley said. However, the estimated $65 per case that the hospital pays NightHawk is “much, much less” than it would cost to pay U.S.-based radiologists at those hours, he added.
(via The Health Care Blog)
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{ 5 comments }
It’s easy to make a diagnosis half a world away when the last line in your consultation is always “clinical correlation required”.
Just from a limited personal note. I am an ER doc and our radiology group uses a night service (not Nighthawk). They are definately not as good as our day radiologists. They have made some very significant misreads with great clinical significance (about 5 in 2 years that I am aware of)
My radiology group went to a nighthawk system after years of ever-increasing abuse from ER docs ordering every inappropriate test imaginable (actually the lazy bastards had their incompetent nurses doing most of the ordering) and giving no useful clinical history. The quality of our hired nighthawk readings is nowhere as good as my group’s readings but they’re getting what they deserve for abusing the ordering process.
Instead of performing a test I have always offered the radiologist the option of coming down and writing on the chart that “_____________ fill in the blank does not exist and an imaging study is not necessary” example: pulmonary embolus, ICH, AAA, brain tumor, ruptured ectopic, trauma etc…….
In ten years I have had no takers. A helpful radiologist might suggest a different approach or type of imaging study.
If a radiologist does not get the clinical history that he/she wants then they should call and ask for it, demand it in the ordering process, teach the tech to get that info, etc…… Whining and groaning in the dark won’t help
Overworked radiology residents often come out of residency with some cynicysm thinking that “only a positive test is an indicated test”. That thinking just does not work in todays medical-legal environment. If I were a radiologist I would not complain at all about doing “unnecessary” tests. Of any specialty yours is the only one that could be easily outsourced. Nihthawk is just a beginning of the possibilities. Bangalore? Bombay? New Delhi?
righto
Once the medical/legal issue gets worked out I would not want to be a non-interventional radiologist. You guys 10 years from now may be looking at today as the last days of the gravy train era. Why pay for you guys when you can get a similar read for 1/5-1/10 the cost. Believe me CMS WILL be looking at this issue. Each year they pick a field to screw over. Last year it was onc. Who do you think it will be this year?
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