How is the recession affecting radiologists?

It depends on who you ask.

Some are finding that their budgets are being slashed, preventing them from buying the latest imaging equipment. One factor is decreasing reimbursement, as “having the money to buy big-ticket technology is one part of the equation, getting paid for it is another.”

Although this is leading some centers to sell themselves or go bankrupt, others are simply more judicious as to what they buy. Digital mammography and CTs for instance, rather than MRI scanners.

What is the deciding factor in many cases? Money, to no one’s surprise. As this imaging equipment executive puts it bluntly, “if it is non-revenue-generating, you probably postpone it.”