Radiology Business Management Association
Resources created by members for members make the Radiology Business Management Association (RBMA) a valuable source of collective knowledge, said executive director Michael R. Mabry.
"Our members serve radiology practices—they're the practice managers, the CEOs, the CFOs," Mabry said. "We provide the resources to make those practices excellent."
In addition to education in the form of live conferences, webinars and audio conferences, RBMA members gain useful information through one-on-one communication with their colleagues, said Mabry. "There really is a sense of community," he said. "Members will call and say, 'I had a question, so I picked up the phone and called So-and-So, because they've gone through it too.'"
Members can also glean information from RBMA's practice management forums and listservs, finding advice on issues ranging from getting reimbursement from a difficult payor to installing a new PACS.
RBMA's diverse membership contributes a broad range of perspectives, said Mabry. "We service the entire spectrum of radiology business professionals, from the coder who processes the claims all the way up to the most senior non-physician member of the practice and the radiologist," he said.
RBMA was founded by a radiologist in 1968 to address the implementation of Medicare and the designation of radiology as a specialty. "At that time, radiologists were basically employees of hospitals—indistinguishable from all the other hospital-based specialties," Mabry said. "With radiology becoming separate, radiologists had to go out and learn how to bill and collect and manage their own practices. RBMA has helped radiology to become an independent, financially self-sustaining industry. "
Relocating from California to Fairfax, Va., in 2007 brought RBMA closer to Congress and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), said Mabry said. "One of our newer initiatives is to communicate more with CMS and Congress about issues on the practice side of radiology, and provide more information to our members about what's happening on Capitol Hill," he said. "We're evolving an advocacy agenda and an advocacy voice.
"RBMA exists so that radiologists can focus on patient care and leave running their practices to professional managers," Mabry concluded. "Radiologists can be confident that their practices are in the good hands of a manager who is an RBMA member."
Grant Writing Skills Sharpened
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More than two dozen people worked to improve their chances of receiving research funding with writing workshops held recently at RSNA Headquarters at Oak Brook, Ill.
The Writing a Competitive Grant Proposal program helps researchers in radiology, radiation oncology, nuclear medicine and related sciences actively pursue federal funding. The hands-on course focuses on developing realistic expectations of and tools for getting started on the grant process.
The Advanced Course in Grant Writing, consisting of four 2-day sessions held over a nine-month period, guides M.D. or Ph.D. faculty members in radiology, radiation oncology and nuclear medicine in preparing and submitting a quality grant application to the NIH, NSF or other equivalent institution.
