HealthManagement, Volume 7 - Issue 4, 2007
Join an International Audience of Management
Experts!
Given the discussion-provoking and even controversial views presented at last year’s edition, this year’s annual Management in Radiology (MIR) conference, set to take place in Oxford, England from Wednesday, October 10, to Saturday, October 13, 2007, promises to raise even greater awareness of the importance of sharing management practices and ideas across the medical imaging community. Here we present you with a snapshot of some of the highlights that will take place.
Opening Sessions: Imaging Management in the UK
The first lecture of the opening session will set the scene, as the Warden of the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR), Dr David Linsell, discusses imaging management issues in Oxfordshire, the county of which the ancient university city of Oxford is capital. The Dean of the RCR, Dr Gillian Markham, will then highlight the major current imaging management issues to which the RCR in its efforts has been a model for the rest of Europe. The remainder of this first session will be devoted to management issues related to PACS, including clinical risk.
Image Study Coding a Top Priority
The second Wednesday afternoon session addresses the important topic of image study coding, a session instigated by popular European request. Speakers from England, Scotland and The Netherlands will discuss their approaches and outcomes in this area, which will have important repercussions for radiologists and imaging departments when 'payment by results' is universally introduced as, most would argue, it inevitably will be.
Imaging IT and Performance
Thursday’s morning session is devoted to "Imaging IT and Performance". One of MIR's keynote speakers this year is Prof. Michael Pentecost who will give two lectures in this session. His first "How the Electronic Medical Record Influences Radiology Management" is followed by a number of interesting proffered papers concentrating on the use of IT in imaging management. Prof. Pentecost's second lecture is entitled "Pay for Performance in American Medicine" and should provoke some comparisons with how imaging is practiced in Europe. Prof. Bruce Hillman will speak on a similar theme, "Pay for Performance and Consumerism – Newest Fads or the Wave of the Future?"
Ten Commandments for Managing an Imaging
Department
Thursday afternoon sees an innovative and fun session, devised by Prof. Philip Gishen, and entitled "The Ten Commandments for Managing an Imaging Department". Each of six senior international radiologists from the UK, France, the US, Estonia, Denmark and Singapore, will enumerate his ten priorities or 'commandments' to guide the successful management of an imaging department. Prof. Gishen and Dr Strickland will then lead a summary and open discussion session with general audience participation.
Teleradiology and Emerging Business Models
The whole of the Friday morning session is given over to the extremely topical subject of teleradiology. Another of this year's keynote speakers, Prof. Seong Ki Mun (from Georgetown University Medical Centre in Washington DC), will talk about "Teleradiology and Emerging Business Models" and there are a host of proffered papers giving data on this theme. MIR's keynote speaker from Singapore, Prof. Tchoyoson Lim discusses "Cluster Enterprise Teleradiology: Potential or Pitfall", based on their experience of, and reaction to, being on the 'receiving end' of imposed outsourced teleradiology on a grand scale.
Managing the Future of Imaging
Friday afternoon's session, "Managing the Future of Imaging", addresses a number of future challenges, tackled by Prof. Michel Claudon, Prof. Henrik Thomsen and Dr David Kessel, amongst others, covering issues as diverse as the management of radiology training in vascular imaging, and management issues arising from the occurrence of nephrogenic systemic fibroisis induced by gadolinium MR contrast agents.
The final half-day of the 2007 MIR conference is dedicated largely to AUR-E.The session commences with Prof. Mun's second invited lecture, "Open Source Software: the Key to Research Management?". Prof. Hans Blickman answers the question "Why is Imaging Research Important to Managing the Future of our Specialty?", closely followed by Prof. Georg Bongartz, who will present his views on "How can an Imaging Department Encourage both Research and Clinical Productivity: Management Models".
Throughout the MIR conference programme there will also be several chosen speakers from companies sponsoring the MIR congress, relating to the importance of partnership between vendors and practitioners in the management of imaging today.
There is no question that the MIR 2007 Congress is not to be missed! Register at:
