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In-office MRI can enhance orthopedic practices
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KOHALA COAST, Hawaii — The addition of an in-office MRI can increase revenue, offer a quicker turnaround for test results and make an orthopedic practice a one-stop shop for patients, according to a presenter here.
“If you are going to integrate an MRI into your office, and I strongly suggest that you do because if you don’t have any ancillary services your income is going down, you have to consider all of the variables that are involved,” Keith D. Bjork, MD, said in a presentation at Orthopedics Today Hawaii 2010.
Bjork, who practices in Amarillo, Texas, said factors to take into consideration when assessing whether to add an in-office MRI include: cost of the MRI; physical space requirements and mechanical needs of adding the machines; legal expenses; and radiologist reading fees.
Bjork said taking the risk of adding this ancillary service can be beneficial to an orthopedic practice.
“Take calculated risks,” he said. “I’ll bet you already give your specialized imaging volume to the hospital or private MRI companies.”
He said when his practice had two physicians, about 60 MRIs a month were being sent to the hospital.
“It turned out, in our community, there are eight MRI scanners for more than 200,000 people,” he said.
Pro forma work
Pro forma work is a must, he added.
“Check if local managed care plans will allow in-office services: Some don’t view it as a part of an ‘orthopaedic practice service,’” he said. Also, be sure to evaluate the demographics of your market, for example if you have many hand specialists in your area, you may not get as many referrals than if there are many sports medicine specialists.
When he put in his first MRI scanner about 10 years ago, the cost was approximately $650,000, Bjork said.
“I strongly suggest that you get a warrantee with the unit because things go wrong.”
By the seventh year, he said, the unit was making $200,000 annually.
“Ever since I have owned an MRI, I have never physically written a check for the unit. It has generated its own income,” he said.
Regulation
Stark law is another important aspect to investigate before you invest in an MRI. If members of a group practice refer patients for MRI Services payable by Medicare/Medicaid to an MRI unit owned or leased by the group practice, then the requirements of the in-office ancillary service exception must be met, he said.
“This made our practice a one-stop shop,” Bjork said. “When we started this I just wanted to break even, I just wanted to add a value-added service to our practice.”
- Reference:
Bjork KD. My long-term experience with an in-office MRI: A case for ancillary services. Presented at Orthopedics Today Hawaii 2010. Jan. 10-13, 2010. Kohala Coast, Hawaii.