Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1139554
A Changing Wichita Radiological Group Is Early Adopter of Value-Based System BY AMY GEISZLER-JONES T H E R A D I O L O G Y S P E C I A LT Y, l i ke ot her hea lt hca re pra ct ices, i s bei n g t r a n s for m e d f r om a v olu m e - b a s e d m o d e l t o a v a lu e - b a s e d m o d e l . I n Ka nsa s, Wichita R adiolog ica l Group, one of the la rgest subspecia lty-focused g roups in the state, is embracing that cha nge wholehea r tedly. "The big focus for years within radiol- ogy was volume — ordering imaging and sitting in a dark room and interpreting those images," says Kamran Ali, MD, a radiologist who serves as President of WRG. "It was like a factory, a stack of exams would be generated and the radiologists would pull them off the line and read them. Medicine has evolved with imaging at the center of the diagnostic enterprise. We are physicians, and we want to engage in the patient's overall health. We want to be a doctor's doctor and go beyond ordering and reading images. Our goal is to become more integrated with patient care." WRG has been one of the early adopters of value-based care in the field of radiology. In a recent interview with the online publication Diagnostic Imaging, Ezequiel Silva III, MD, Chair of the American College of Radiology Commission on Economics, said that the movement to va lue-based care in radiolog y is moving slower than expected. But that has not been the case with WRG. In fact, WRG received a commendation from the American College of Radiology as a model for transforming to a value-based system, Dr. Ali says. Some of the movement to a value-based system has come about because of regulation, policy and payment changes on state and federal government levels, such as the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) and the Protecting Access to Medicare Act. The latter, which will go into effect Jan. 1, 2020, requires referring providers to consult appropriate use criteria when ordering advanced diagnostic imaging services to avoid unnecessary imaging for patients. A crucial factor for a practice to make such a switch, however, comes from within — from the physicians who want to help enhance the patient's healthcare experience, which has been the case at WRG, Dr. Ali says. Dr. Ali credits his colleagues in the group as helping make the value-based transformation a reality. "We have a culture in this organization that supports this change," he says. Many in the group see the value-based model as being more responsive to patient needs, enhancing partnerships with referring providers and helping with the practice's workflow and efficiencies, Dr. Ali says. Twenty-four physicians — 20 radiologists, three radiation oncologists and one sleep medicine physician — and three physician Kamran Ali, MD, FACR, President, Wichita Radiological Group Image for Radiology: Dr. Chris Baalmann 1 0❱❱❱❱❱ C O V E R S T O R Y