Geraldine McGinty, MD, MBA, FACR is Chair of the American College of Radiology (ACR) Commission on Economics. A specialist in women's imaging, she is Assistant Professor of Radiology at Weill Cornell Medical College and Assistant Attending Radiologist at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Campus. She was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Radiology (FACR) in 2013.
1. What are your key areas of interest and research?
Through my work as Economics Commission Chair for the American College of Radiology (ACR), I spend a lot of time advocating for appropriate reimbursement for radiology services within the current payment system. This has given me plenty of insights about what is not working well, so my research interest is around developing new payment models for imaging that recognise the value provided by radiologists and drive better outcomes for our patients and the population in general.
2. What are the major challenges in your field?
We have been rewarded for productivity and efficiency, so we have prioritised that over the types of consultative activity that made us so valuable in the first place. The healthcare system in the U.S. is shifting towards value, so we need to demonstrate our contribution, which is sizeable and essential, to high value care. However, radiologists have been penalised by so many reimbursement cuts in recent years that many are anxious and finding it hard to think about new activities that will take them away from their traditional metrics of success. Managing our journey as a profession through this change is a challenge which we are addressing with the Imaging 3.0 initiative.
3. What is your top management tip?
Be generous.
The legendary Alabama football coach Bear Bryant once said: "If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, we did it. If anything goes really good, then you did it".
4. What would you single out as a career highlight?
Honestly the work that I do as a radiologist is so rewarding. Being able to support a patient through the diagnosis of breast cancer, or reassure her that everything is ok never fails to sustain me.
Becoming the Chair of the Economics Commission was a huge honour. I stepped into some very big shoes, Drs. Allen Thorwarth, Moorefield and of course the late Dr Harvey Neiman, who mentored me as a junior resident and whose career has been an inspiration. It is a privilege to serve our professional community, especially in such challenging times.
5. If you had not chosen this career path you would have become a...?
I love languages and do my best to keep my French up to speed so I might have done something in that area. That said I can clearly recall the 8 year old me being emphatic that I was going to be a doctor so I think my course was set early on.
6. What are your personal interests outside of work?
I am a New Yorker now and New Yorkers are obsessed with food! I cook when I can, but I love to discover new restaurants. I love fashion and work diligently on my shoe collection, which even earned its own hashtag at last year's RSNA! (#RSNAshoes)
7. Your favourite quote?
So hard to choose!
'Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.'
Marie Curie
Dr. McGinty graduated in medicine from the National University of Ireland, Galway. She completed her radiology residency at the University of Pittsburgh and a fellowship in women's imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. From 1994-1995 Dr. McGinty worked at New York Medical College as Assistant Professor of Radiology and Assistant Attending Radiologist at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, New York. From 1995-2002 Dr. McGinty was Medical Director of Outpatient Imaging at Montefiore Medical Center and Assistant Professor of Radiology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY. Dr. McGinty was a physician and shareholder in NRAD Medical Associates, Garden City, NY from 2002-2013; she was Managing Partner at NRAD from 2010-2012. She graduated with a Masters of Business Administration from Columbia University in 2000.
Dr. McGinty serves as Member of the American Medical Association (AMA) Relative Value Update Committee (2012-present); Chair of the Economics Committee of the New York State Radiologic Society (2010-present); Member of the Workers' Compensation and No Fault Insurance Committee of the Medical Society of the State of New York (2010-present); and is a Member of the Board of Chancellors of the ABR (2012-present). She is an Editorial Board Member and Reviewer for the Journal of the American College of Radiology (2011-present). She has actively served the American College of Radiology since 2000, and became Chair of the ACR Commission on Economics in 2012. In recognition of Dr. McGinty's contributions to the specialty of Radiology she was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Radiology (FACR) in 2013.
Dr. McGinty is a regular presenter at Management in Radiology's annual scientific meeting, most recently speaking about "Demonstrating the value of radiology and radiologists" at the 2014 annual scientific meeting in Bologna.
Links
Twitter
Website
Videos
1. What are your key areas of interest and research?
Through my work as Economics Commission Chair for the American College of Radiology (ACR), I spend a lot of time advocating for appropriate reimbursement for radiology services within the current payment system. This has given me plenty of insights about what is not working well, so my research interest is around developing new payment models for imaging that recognise the value provided by radiologists and drive better outcomes for our patients and the population in general.
2. What are the major challenges in your field?
We have been rewarded for productivity and efficiency, so we have prioritised that over the types of consultative activity that made us so valuable in the first place. The healthcare system in the U.S. is shifting towards value, so we need to demonstrate our contribution, which is sizeable and essential, to high value care. However, radiologists have been penalised by so many reimbursement cuts in recent years that many are anxious and finding it hard to think about new activities that will take them away from their traditional metrics of success. Managing our journey as a profession through this change is a challenge which we are addressing with the Imaging 3.0 initiative.
3. What is your top management tip?
Be generous.
The legendary Alabama football coach Bear Bryant once said: "If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, we did it. If anything goes really good, then you did it".
4. What would you single out as a career highlight?
Honestly the work that I do as a radiologist is so rewarding. Being able to support a patient through the diagnosis of breast cancer, or reassure her that everything is ok never fails to sustain me.
Becoming the Chair of the Economics Commission was a huge honour. I stepped into some very big shoes, Drs. Allen Thorwarth, Moorefield and of course the late Dr Harvey Neiman, who mentored me as a junior resident and whose career has been an inspiration. It is a privilege to serve our professional community, especially in such challenging times.
5. If you had not chosen this career path you would have become a...?
I love languages and do my best to keep my French up to speed so I might have done something in that area. That said I can clearly recall the 8 year old me being emphatic that I was going to be a doctor so I think my course was set early on.
6. What are your personal interests outside of work?
I am a New Yorker now and New Yorkers are obsessed with food! I cook when I can, but I love to discover new restaurants. I love fashion and work diligently on my shoe collection, which even earned its own hashtag at last year's RSNA! (#RSNAshoes)
7. Your favourite quote?
So hard to choose!
'Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.'
Marie Curie
Dr. McGinty graduated in medicine from the National University of Ireland, Galway. She completed her radiology residency at the University of Pittsburgh and a fellowship in women's imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. From 1994-1995 Dr. McGinty worked at New York Medical College as Assistant Professor of Radiology and Assistant Attending Radiologist at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, New York. From 1995-2002 Dr. McGinty was Medical Director of Outpatient Imaging at Montefiore Medical Center and Assistant Professor of Radiology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY. Dr. McGinty was a physician and shareholder in NRAD Medical Associates, Garden City, NY from 2002-2013; she was Managing Partner at NRAD from 2010-2012. She graduated with a Masters of Business Administration from Columbia University in 2000.
Dr. McGinty serves as Member of the American Medical Association (AMA) Relative Value Update Committee (2012-present); Chair of the Economics Committee of the New York State Radiologic Society (2010-present); Member of the Workers' Compensation and No Fault Insurance Committee of the Medical Society of the State of New York (2010-present); and is a Member of the Board of Chancellors of the ABR (2012-present). She is an Editorial Board Member and Reviewer for the Journal of the American College of Radiology (2011-present). She has actively served the American College of Radiology since 2000, and became Chair of the ACR Commission on Economics in 2012. In recognition of Dr. McGinty's contributions to the specialty of Radiology she was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Radiology (FACR) in 2013.
Dr. McGinty is a regular presenter at Management in Radiology's annual scientific meeting, most recently speaking about "Demonstrating the value of radiology and radiologists" at the 2014 annual scientific meeting in Bologna.
Links
Website
Videos
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Geraldine McGinty, MD, MBA, FACR is Chair of the American College of Radiology (ACR) Commission on Economics. A specialist in women's imaging, she is Assis...
