[tdetlie_105]

Quote from bostonrad1

Any anecdotes on Hospitals that completely lost their radiologists? 

 
Good question.  I have not heard of anything significant.  Will certainly be a factor (or non-factor) when negotiating contracts 

[kiqbns_134]

My group had to drop a hospital a year ago. We got a pretty killer stipend for a few months while they stalled on getting a new crew. They hired a crap group that promised things that werent delivered and was basically just a bad tele service and now moving on from that group. Its going to get tough for them out there. We couldnt staff it either. Shortage is real. Everyone has enough work. This was rural of course

[khodadadi_babak89]

There was the Mercy Toledo story from about 10 years ago. This story was HOT on AM, with something like 10,000 posts. 
 
The hospital did not get to a situation where there was NO radiology for a period of time. I think that probably if that were to happen, they would have to close, per JCAHO. Which is why there probably are no situations with NO coverage at all. 
 
I will shorten this:
In May, radiologists were told a company would take over the contract in 2 weeks. The existing radiology group had no contract (not unusual at the time), and they had no other hospital. They were told they could still work at the hospital by simply agreeing to work for the new company.  They ALL refused. The new company had been counting on poaching. Now they were in trouble. 
(This new company was called IA  – if I remember it was for “Imaging advantage”  or something like that. It was owned by a group of radiologists and businessmen centered on Mass General – including James Thrall – the leader of the ACR at the time, and the chair at Mass general. They conspired to push out this group. Not a good look. I and others wrote letters to the ACR demanding Thralls resignation. He timed out – left at the end of his term) 
 
I talked to people in the department at the time – techs, etc. They said the coverage was awful. Couldn’t find radiologist to help with cases, etc.
A competing group in town got most of the interventional business, and the mammo business. The new company couldn’t handle it.  
A tech told me of a fatal complication of a renal biopsy. When the patient got in trouble, the radiologist didn’t answer.
A separate case was revealed to me by a partner of mine who had been contacted to be an expert witness against the radiologist. Also a fatal outcome.
 
The contract was signed for 3 years. After two, a press release came out that the hospital was thanking IA for helping the hospital learn how to manage a radiology department, and that they would be exiting their 3 year agreement. They made it look like a success!!! They hired their own radiologists.

The hospital administrator was a guy named Andrabi – a family med doc who had gone into administration and was known to be hostile to docs. After a few more years at this hospital, he moved on to a CEO position in a Wisconsin hospital. 
A lesson – one of the skills of a successful administrator is to be able to dodge responsibility for epic screw ups.

 
 

[khodadadi_babak89]

There was the Mercy Toledo story from about 10 years ago. This story was HOT on AM, with something like 10,000 posts. 
 
The hospital did not get to a situation where there was NO radiology for a period of time. I think that probably if that were to happen, they would have to close, per JCAHO. Which is why there probably are no situations with NO coverage at all. 
 
I will shorten this:
In May, radiologists were told a company would take over the contract in 2 weeks. The existing radiology group had no contract (not unusual at the time), and they had no other hospital. They were told they could still work at the hospital by simply agreeing to work for the new company.  They ALL refused. The new company had been counting on poaching. Now they were in trouble. 
(This new company was called IA  – if I remember it was for “Imaging advantage”  or something like that. It was owned by a group of radiologists and businessmen centered on Mass General – including James Thrall – the leader of the ACR at the time, and the chair at Mass general. They conspired to push out this group. Not a good look. I and others wrote letters to the ACR demanding Thralls resignation. He timed out – left at the end of his term) 
 
I talked to people in the department at the time – techs, etc. They said the coverage was awful. Couldn’t find radiologist to help with cases, etc.
A competing group in town got most of the interventional business, and the mammo business. The new company couldn’t handle it.  
A tech told me of a fatal complication of a renal biopsy. When the patient got in trouble, the radiologist didn’t answer.
A separate case was revealed to me by a partner of mine who had been contacted to be an expert witness against the radiologist. Also a fatal outcome.
 
The contract was signed for 3 years. After two, a press release came out that the hospital was thanking IA for helping the hospital learn how to manage a radiology department, and that they would be exiting their 3 year agreement. They made it look like a success!!! They hired their own radiologists.

The hospital administrator was a guy named Andrabi – a family med doc who had gone into administration and was known to be hostile to docs. After a few more years at this hospital, he moved on to a CEO position in a Wisconsin hospital. 
A lesson – one of the skills of a successful administrator is to be able to dodge responsibility for epic screw ups.

 
 

[khodadadi_babak89]

Related thread #1 :

[link=https://www.auntminnie.com/Forum/tm.aspx?high=Andrabi&m=686623&mpage=1#686749]https://www.auntminnie.com/Forum/tm.aspx?high=Andrabi&m=686623&mpage=1#686749[/link]
 

[khodadadi_babak89]

here is the initial thread about IA/Toledo mercy. Started in 2009
[link=https://www.auntminnie.com/Forum/tm.aspx?&m=198186&high=Andrabi&mpage=1]https://www.auntminnie.com/Forum/tm.aspx?&m=198186&high=Andrabi&mpage=1[/link] 

[khodadadi_babak89]

A follow up message thread a few years later. 
 
[link=https://www.auntminnie.com/Forum/tm.aspx?high=Andrabi&m=305347&mpage=1#305707]https://www.auntminnie.com/Forum/tm.aspx?high=Andrabi&m=305347&mpage=1#305707[/link]
 

[khodadadi_babak89]

and another follow up thread about Andrabi’s career path later:
[link=https://www.auntminnie.com/Forum/tm.aspx?high=Andrabi&m=253232&mpage=7#381520 ]https://www.auntminnie.co…p;mpage=7#381520 [/link]

[ruszja]

Small <1 man sites lose coverage all the time. So far there was always some tele outfit willing to pick up the volume. You can go a few months without modified barium swallows. Eventually they find an old guy who comes 6 hours every other week to sling some barium as a locums.

[lisbef3_453]

Yes this happens.   They will cough up for either locums or stipends to a nearby group and the cost may be high enough to push them into financial straits that can lead to closure or getting gobbled up by a bigger fish.
The administrators involved often fail up.   

[ebshanon]

Is this Mercy the same Mercy that is being serviced by RP now?

[reza800p_368]

In the last 12 years, every time we wanted to renew our contract, the hospital indirectly told us that they have the option of giving the contract to another group or even telerad company. Bringing up good service, strong mammo and IR departments or admin work never helped. They pushed us to compromise one way or another and we had to accept it. 

This time the language was totally different. The CEO was super friendly and told us how great our service is. He even offered to give us some subsidy and once we asked for more, he accepted to split the difference.  

Timing is everything in life.  

[tdetlie_105]

Quote from OnsiteRad

In the last 12 years, every time we wanted to renew our contract, the hospital indirectly told us that they have the option of giving the contract to another group or even telerad company. Bringing up good service, strong mammo and IR departments or admin work never helped. They pushed us to compromise one way or another and we had to accept it. 

This time the language was totally different. The CEO was super friendly and told us how great our service is. He even offered to give us some subsidy and once we asked for more, he accepted to split the difference.  

[b]Timing is everything in life.   [/b]

 
Good to hear that things worked out for your group. Hopefully this becomes the new norm.