Healthcare organizations of all shapes and sizes face challenges in managing radiology department operations, particularly when it comes to effective staffing.
Often, an organization does not experience a high enough volume of ultrasound and other imaging services to support a staff of full-time technologists, which means you end up paying for staff to be onsite unnecessarily. These extra costs are hard to justify, especially in the current healthcare market. According to the June Kaufman Hall Flash Report, total expense per adjusted discharge was down 1.7% YTD from January-May 2020 but up 16.6% above January-May 2019.
You need a way not only to get these staffing expenses down, but to increase the financial performance of your radiology department overall. A shared services model allows you to do just that.
What Is a Shared Services Model?
Hospitals, health systems, and freestanding ERs participate in shared service models when they enter into agreements with third-party imaging providers and receive access to staffing and operational support. As a result, they can trim their radiology resources to just what they actually need to meet demand.
Roshal Health offers this type of model by delivering a hybrid of scheduled and on-demand services that cover end-to-end staffing and operations for radiology departments. We partner with physicians, clinics, and hospitals to provide prompt ultrasound and echocardiogram services performed by expert technologists who care.
How to Use Shared Services for Better Financial Performance
An imaging shared services model helps improve the financial performance of radiology departments in three critical ways, leading to a positive impact on business operations as a whole.
1. Greater Cost Savings
Whether you’re a freestanding ER, a micro hospital, or an urgent care clinic, your radiology department must handle variable ultrasound and other imaging volumes. This inconsistency results in over-spending and inefficient resource allocation.
Not only does a shared services model help you cut staffing costs by allowing you to only pay for what you use, but it reduces many of the indirect costs associated with hiring a full-time employee, such as training, performance management, and ongoing professional development.
Whether your radiology department staffs full-time technologists 24/7, or you have them onsite for eight hours a day, or you employ them on a “permanent part-time” basis, you stand to save money with a shared services partnership. However, it’s important to note that the more full-time technologists you have, the more your organization will save; if you do not have full-time staff in these roles, you will primarily save on indirect costs.
On average, Roshal Health helps providers save up to 40% in staffing costs.
2. Increased Operational Efficiency
With an end-to-end shared services model, your third-party partner takes care of ongoing equipment and facility maintenance, so you can focus on strategic initiatives that directly affect your business.
At Roshal Health, our certified technologists manage protocols such as high-level disinfection, machine calibration checks and advice, and worksheet review. They stay up to date on compliance regulations and pursue continuous learning around best practices, so you can feel confident that your imaging services will be performed in the right way with little oversight.
By freeing up your leadership’s time, you’ll achieve smoother operations, which shows up positively on your bottom line.
3. Better Revenue Management
When you partner with third-party imaging experts you get access to their deep knowledge of billing practices. Roshal Health ultrasound technologists, in particular, understand the intricacies of CPT coding and provide detailed documentation to ensure accuracy and maximum reimbursement.
Additionally, a shared services model helps you treat more patients when they need scans, rather than having to transfer them out due to staffing gaps. Roshal Health technologists have an average turnaround time of 35 minutes – which is comparable to in-house staff turnaround times – so you don’t lose out on patients and revenue.
The combination of greater cost savings, increased operational efficiency, and better revenue management results in a more profitable radiology department. And, by getting this cost center under control, you’ll drive financial improvements across the board.
Learn More about Roshal Health
To discover what a shared services model can do for your organization, check out Roshal’s Diagnostic Imaging Solutions or contact us to get in touch with a member of our team.
