Dr. Emily Sonnenblick Honored at American Cancer Society Luncheon

Emily Sonnenblick, M.D., of the prestigious Rosetta Radiology Group, was honored last week by The American Cancer Society at The Mothers of the Year 2012 Awards Luncheon for her cutting edge work in women’s imaging and her dedication to family values and community outreach.

               

Dr. Sonnenblick and the two other women that were honored at the annual luncheon, Grace Hightower De Niro and Diane Reidy-Lagunes, M.D., represent the epitome of career women, wives and mothers in the community for their compassion and dedication to advancements in cancer treatment. The Mother of the Year Award aims to recognize exemplary work in philanthropy and medicine and the dynamic women who make the work of the American Cancer Society possible. Sonnenblick is honored to join the ranks of other beneficial women who have supported important research, detection and prevention programs like Tory Burch, Dr. Deborah Axelrod, Muffie Potter Aston and Dr. Freya Schnabel.

In her acceptance speech, Dr. Sonnenblick commented saying, “The American Cancer Society is a powerful advocate for sound screening guidelines for cancers. It plays a role as a beacon and has not given in to revisionist and misinformed attitudes towards screening.” Most notably recognized for her work in Women’s Imaging at Rosetta Radiology, Sonnenblick is grateful to the American Cancer Society for the opportunity to be recognized for her dedication to early detection and treatment. She is also grateful for her supportive staff and colleagues at Rosetta Radiology and her family for sharing her mission of ridding the world of cancer.

Offering state of the art imaging, Dr. Sonnenblick and her radiologist partners at Rosetta Radiology will continue striving towards advancements in cancer prevention and control, supporting the groundbreaking efforts of the American Cancer Society.

Emily Sonnenblick, M.D. is a co-founder of Rosetta Radiology, a diagnostic radiology and radiation oncology practice on the Upper East Side in New York City. She received her M.D. from Weill Cornell Medical College, served her medicine internship at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York and completed her residency in radiology at Hospital University in Pennsylvania and Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. Sonnenblick completed a fellowship in ultrasound and imaging at the Mt. Sinai Medical Center and continue to maintain a teaching appointment on the staff. An American Board of Radiology certified radiologist, Sonnenblick’s expertise is in women’s imaging and is a member of RSNA, the New York Metropolitan Breast Society, the Ultrasound Society, the ACR and the New York County Medical Society. She is married to Ken Offit, M.D., M.P.H., who heads clinical genetics at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and has three daughters.

Imaging Price Transparency Reaches New Levels in Florida

"I’ll have a turkey and cheese on rye, MRI on the side, please?” 

It might seem like a stretch, but it looks like the way you order your sandwich at the local deli is the same way the state of Florida is hoping for patients to acquire healthcare services. With upwards of 50 million uninsured Americans, the healthcare community has seen a significant spike in price-shopping trends. The state of Florida’s proposed legislation that would require physicians to post signs in their waiting rooms, showing their cash-pay pricing, seems to be a flawed attempt at empowerment in this price-sensitive patient market. 

The response to this proposed rule is decidedly negative from most physicians, as it seems that the legislation is attempting to compare hoagies and paninis to medicine. Our facility, Advanced Imaging Centers, has taken a different approach. We recognized a need in the patient population as well as our referring physician supporters for a simplified cash-pay pricing structure before this legislation was announced, which led us to implement our new initiative and post and publicize cash-pay prices. Radiology is the most price-shopped medical procedure, and we want our patients to take advantage of pricing transparency and be empowered to make decisions balancing price, service and quality.

           
        

Patients are becoming more aware of the need to serve as their own healthcare advocates, leading them to search for options. We have invested in this process by advertising the true cash-pay prices at our facility and by subscribing to Save On Medical (SaveOnMedical.com), which allows patients to search for services in their region and compare local facilities based on price and quality scoring. 

The new process compiles all types of exams and allots one flat fee for each modality, which encompasses both the technical and professional portions of the exam. An MRI, for example, would have one flat cash-pay price regardless of whether it was ordered for a patient’s neck or back, with contrast or without.

Our staff understands that to survive as an independent facility, we must use service and patient care as differentiators. If patients are looking for pricing transparency, we are going to provide it. By showing patients what we are actually charging them, the payment process will be more seamless, leading to improved collections.

Unfortunately, if passed, the law will require offices to post their fee schedule, which is the highest amount a patient could pay. A radiology facility’s fee schedule is comparable to a suggested retail price in business. The cash-pay price is typically less than the fee schedule. However, in healthcare, insurance companies and government agencies develop their own contracted rates as a percentage of the practice’s fee schedule. 

A patient considering the price for an MRI would have a difficult time understanding how he or she would be charged without having the knowledge of a medical billing professional. The patient hears, “We’re charging $500 for this exam, because we have to send a fraction of it here and a fraction of it there and then split it in half again.” Transparency requires a patient to understand the fee schedule, which means that the rule could end up being more of an inconvenience for practices without benefitting the patient population, and we are aiming to please our customer—the patient.

We want our patients to understand that they have choices when it comes to their care, so that when they choose us, they have confidence in our quality of service and in the amount they will pay, in the same way they have confidence in their go-to favorite sandwich.

Jayson A. Lord, MD, is one of the three on-site board-certified radiologists who own Advanced Imaging Centers in central Florida.


As seen in the March 2012 Edition of Health Imaging Magazine and online.

How Facebook Timeline Will Affect Social Media in Health Care

It was announced today that Facebook will be offering business pages the opportunity to segue over to Timeline, the new format of Facebook starting tomorrow.  Personal profiles have had this capability since December of 2011 and now businesses will have their chance to test-drive this layout before it becomes standard.  Changes on Facebook always bring about mixed reviews, however we think Timeline means great things for businesses, especially health care practices. 

The concept of creating an online scrapbook of sorts with Facebook Timeline allows for a richer engagement experience for visitors to your practice’s page.  A study conducted by Mashable, the web’s authority on all things social media, states that the new layout attracts visitors eyes towards the items that are more helpful to them.

After completing the study, it was found that the new format enabled the following:

-       Personalized Facebook Ads are noticed 20% more by potential customers with the new placements

-       The cover photo is the first thing noticed and is easily interchanged

-       The profile picture is the second thing noticed, closely followed by the content, which is the portion that attracts visitors for the longest period of time

-       Fixation order has more of a systematic approach with an order that leads the visitor to take action on the page

-       Fans can easily view the most important historical details while gaining perspective of the company’sinteraction with the community

-       The layout is more engaging due to having more pertinent information readily presentable when visitors first land on the page

All of these items will lead to increased interaction between the visitor and the company.  The capabilities of communication will not change; rather it will be easier for the company to manage that communication and measure involvement with their page.  Of course, as with all new things, users should be aware of the challenges that might come along with implementing Facebook Timeline.  It might take some time to get used to, so make sure you make the transition when you have time to discover the format’s capabilities.  It is also important to know that Timeline might not be compatible with all current Facebook applications, so there might be some adjustments that need to be made.  Fortunately these issues are slim.

(our best guess at what our page will look like)

Aside from the aesthetic changes, Facebook Timeline will also transform the way companies interact with their fans.  It will now be significantly more interactive, which means great things for medical practices.  As a member of a practice, you can capitalize on the things that Timeline enables, like the ease of changing your cover photo, which can serve as your sites own personal billboard.  Of course the challenge with billboards is that you can’t change them, this doesn’t apply here. With this new step in healthcare social media, you can advertise lowered prices for the season, while still showing your logo in your profile picture, or having a picture of your staff while promoting a monthly deal.

We will be transitioning to Timeline as soon as it is available for businesses, and will be doing the same for all of our centers.  We think this will enable us to better express our company involvement in the community and present what makes our facilities the best, which is the patient experience and attention from the staff.

How To: Save Money On Your High Deductible Health Plans

The following blog post can be found originally on Save On Medical’s Blog:

High Deductible Health Plans (noun)

Definition- Health insurance option designed to save companies money on premiums, create “consumer-driven” health plans, often coupled with tax-exempt Health Savings Accounts.

Results in: patients paying heaps of money out-of-pocket, financed retirement plans, increased patient awareness of care, price shopping.
Statistics: 2008: 6.8 Million HDHP Accounts 2012: Over 10 Million HDHP Accounts

You ask for cheap MRIs and low cost mammograms, we tell you “no problem.”  We pride ourselves on our accurate yet innovative Docometer scoring system and the ability to provide patients with the best cash pay pricing options on the market, but what about that patient population with those High Deductible Health Plans, how do they Save On Medical?

We have laid out a number of tricks and “rules,” if you will, for you High Deductible Health Plan patients, with yourHealth Savings Accounts and price-sensitive emotions:

Rule 1 to Saving On Medical: Never Commoditize Your Care
Remember that just because your deductible is high, does not mean that you need to pick and choose the services you think you really need. Yes, you’re paying out of pocket, but no, that should not limit the capacity of your care.

Rule 2 to Saving On Medical: Shop Like You’re Paying Cash
Be aware of pricing transparency by price shopping as a cash pay patient. By understanding what those without insurance are paying up front for the service, you can evaluate your payment options with an open mind.

Rule 3 to Saving On Medical: Compare the Prices of Care
Never simply pick a location because they have a cheap MRI or low cost CT scan.  Take the time to review the other factors that contribute to the facilities Docometer score.  Ask yourself questions like, “Do I care that the radiologist isn’t on-site?” “This site has brand new technology but it is more expensive, does that matter?”

Rule 4 to Saving On Medical: Be An Informed Patient
The algorithm we have created for the Docometer score is reliable; however never blindly submit to any decision that can literally change your life.  Do the appropriate research so that when you are comparing the prices of care you make a decision based on the factors that are most important to you as a patient. Also, keep a record of your costs and be aware of where your money is going.

Rule 5 to Saving On Medical: Call Your Insurance Provider

The geniuses behind the High Deductible Health Plans can and will work with you if you reach out to them. Depending on the company, they might be able to provide specific claim forms and authorizations that will allow them to approve your cash-pay purchases and put them towards your deductible.  Whenever you are willing to pay upfront, the insurance company and the radiology facility are going to be itching to help you out.

Social Media in Health Care

In light of our recent focus on social media in health care, we thought we might share this hilarious, yet oddly succinct, breakdown of social media into terms we all know and understand. DONUTS.

Now we will break it down into other terms, not quite as yummy, but still understandable. MRI.

Twitter: Check out our discounted #MRI services, today only! http:linktoyourwebsiteaboutMRIs

Faceebook: We love MRIs and our patient feedback! Like Us and Our MRIs!

Foursquare: This is where we go for cheap MRIs and great patient care!

Instagram: Here’s a vintage photo of our staff at our MRI facility!

YouTube: Check out this video about our **NEW** MRI technology and the story of a woman whose life was saved because of it.

LinkedIn:All of our MRI technicians are a part of this indsutry group MRI Techs and their skills include the following…

Pinterest:Here are unique ways to decorate your MRI facility!

Last FM: Currently listening to songs about… MRIs… wait. This one doesn’t really apply.

Google+: Here is a circle of our Radiologists, here’s a circle of our referring physicians, here’s a circle of our top patients, here’s a circle of our techs, here’s a circle of our competitors… now I’m dizzy.

SaveOnMedical: Here is where you can shop for your MRI!