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CEO Says Internet Could Help Reduce US Overspending on
Radiology
National Imaging Associates Executive
Sees 30% Savings
Boston, August 9, 2000 - Speaking today
before the Digital Consulting Institute (DCI) Corporate Portals Conference, a
national conference of Internet portal leaders and business executives, John J.
Donahue, president and CEO of National Imaging Associates, Inc. (NIA), said
that Internet technology and resources now available could help significantly
decrease inappropriate use of costly imaging and X-ray examinations. He also
said recent studies show the nation's radiology costs, estimated at some $75
billion and growing at 15 percent annually, could be reduced by at least 30
percent.
Mr. Donahue added that the Internet has the potential to trim
millions of dollars in healthcare costs by rapidly connecting and advising
physicians of best practices and avoiding unnecessary procedures. He said
studies show that 30 to 40 percent of imaging examinations ordered by doctors
for patients frequently are not needed . According to Mr. Donahue, the problem
is that doctors typically don't have good clinical dialogues with radiologists
before ordering an imaging procedure. He believes the Internet can change that.
In their talk, Expanding Healthcare e-Business with
Enterprise Portals, Mr. Donahue and R. Robert LaGalia, senior vice president
for strategy & development at NIA, stressed the need for e-business
solutions within the healthcare industry, which is the single-largest industry
in the United States, representing over 14% of the Gross Domestic Product. They
went on to provide a case study of RadMD, NIA's Web-based medical management
application for the healthcare industry that uses Enterprise Portal 1.0 by
Sybase.
NIA worked closely with Sybase Professional Services (SPS) to
develop the RadMD portal. To benefit from the ubiquity of the Internet, NIA and
SPS created a Web-based version of its successful radiology call-center
service, which is used by managed care organizations, physicians and other
provider organizations to appropriately manage the costs of diagnostic
radiology services and improve the quality of patient care. RadMD brings NIA's
clinical expertise to a web-based format via a secure Sybase Enterprise Portal,
which is the first portal product using Sybase's software technology to offer
the seamless integration of applications and information over the Internet.
"The goal of NIA is to assure the most appropriate use
of diagnostic imaging technologies for our client's enrollees. We do this by
providing the participants in the care delivery process with the expert
clinical support and administrative tools necessary to perform these
transactions in the most efficient means possible," explains Mr. LaGalia.
RadMD extends NIA's successful call-center business to the Web, improving
service to physicians and their staff, lowering costs over time and providing a
"leverageable" platform that can deliver additional services in the
future.
About NIA
National Imaging Associates, Inc. is the leading provider of diagnostic
radiology management services to healthcare payers in the United States. The
company offers an integrated radiology case management program for healthcare
payers that seek to improve the total cost, quality and utilization of
diagnostic radiology services rendered to health plan enrollees.
About RadMD.com
National Imaging Associates, Inc. is the leading provider of diagnostic
radiology management services to healthcare payers in the United States. The
company offers an integrated radiology case management program for healthcare
payers that seek to improve the total cost, quality and utilization of
diagnostic radiology services rendered to health plan enrollees.
RadMD is NIA's Web-based medical management application that
enables managed care organizations and other payers to cost-effectively
automate the radiology medical management process in an URAC-accredited
environment. RadMD allows managed care organizations to manage the cost and
utilization of diagnostic radiology, assure regulator compliance, enhance
system-wide productivity, improve quality of care, and increase physician and
member satisfaction.
(1) Imaging Economics 2000;13:18-26
SOURCE National Imaging Associate
This Press Release can be seen on PR News Wire at
http://www.prnewswire.com/
(Market Focus-health/biotech-Search: National Imaging Associates)
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