Before you invest in digital radiography, it’s important to keep in mind what type of return you should expect from the upgrades. As it stands, healthcare service providers stand to lose a lot of money if they don’t upgrade to DR, owing to the efficiency losses from using older technology and the terms of the Consolidated Appropriations Act.
This blog will discuss some of the pitfalls of sticking to your existing equipment and the theoretical losses with these. The actual value of losses will differ between any two service providers—as such, this blog only presents a general way to assess the caveats.
Efficiency Gains from Using DR
Digital radiography equipment is superior to computed radiography and film X-ray solutions from every practical aspect. DR flat panel detectors are faster, compact and produce much better images compared to other X-ray hardware. With the use of a great image acquisition software, you have greater control over image quality, and you have greater control over image quality.
ExamVue’s DR flat panel detector, for example, render full resolution images in less than 10 seconds. Our image acquisition software allows you to rotate images, flip them, zoom in, and is fully compatible with DICOM 3.0. Our digital X-ray panels effectively eliminate the delays in processing X-ray films, or the cassettes used in computed radiography to make your facilities much more efficient.
The faster output offered by DR increases patient throughput and might potentially expedite patient diagnosis for quicker treatment as well. These contributions ultimately improve your service provision capabilities.
The Financial Concerns
With the introduction of the Consolidate Appropriations Act in 2016, the government is pushing for greater adoption of DR across the healthcare industry. To expedite the process, they’re imposing Medicare reimbursement deductions on service providers who continue to use CR or analog X-ray equipment for imaging purposes. According to the terms of the Act, the deductions schedule is as follows:
- Service providers using film X-rays will pay 20% in deductions from reimbursements.
- Those using CR will pay 7% in deductions.
- By 2023, deductions for the use of CR will rise to 10%
In Conclusion
Given the losses associated with using CR and analog X-ray equipment, it’s only in everyone’s best interests to upgrade to DR. The DR solutions offered by ExamVue are one of the most cost-effective upgrades in the market. Upgrading with ExamVue can cost less than half the price of a brand-new digital X-ray system and offer equally as brilliant quality.
ExamVue develops high-quality medical imaging solutions, ranging from digital X-ray panels down to integrative PACS. Our digital radiography equipment delivers clear imaging and we offer digital X-ray solutions for podiatrists, orthopedists and other medical practitioners. To place an order or learn more, get in touch with us today at our website or by calling at (516) 654-6955.
