RFS Recap of Spring MORADS Meeting
MORads Spring Meeting 2024 – RFS Recap
The Missouri Radiological Society Spring Meeting was held Saturday March 9th. Here are some brief updates and opportunities!
New MORads RFS Leadership were announced at the Spring Meeting, with transition to occur following the ACR Annual meeting later this month:
President: Mitchell Lynn, R2, UMKC
Vice President (President-Elect): Lakshmi Priya, R1, UMKC
Secretary-Treasurer: Utkarsh Parwal, R3, MIR
Member-at-large: Cody Thornburg, R4, Mizzou
Member-at-large: Chelsea Schmitt, R3, MIR
The 76th Carmen lecture was given by Dr. Andrew Moriarty titled “Scoping Radiology Practice Changes”. He covered a broad range of pressing topics related to growing imaging volumes, workforce shortage and nonphysician practitioner roles/scope in radiology. He discussed trends in Medicare reimbursement, with reimbursement not keeping pace with inflation, due in large part to restrictions from budget neutrality. For further reading check out Dr. Moriarty’s ACR Bulletin article “How Does Inflation Impact the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule?” Dr. Moriarty discussed trends toward corporatization of medicine, referencing this JACR 2020 article Early-Career Radiologists’ Perceptions of National Corporations in Radiology. He spoke about changes in workforce composition seen in private equity-acquired practices with increased percentage of nonphysician practitioner utilization. Take a look at this JACR 2022 article he referenced about characteristics of practices employing NPs and PAs. He also touched on the contribution of nonphysician practitioners to growing imaging volumes, citing a 2022 study published in JAMA which showed an increase in ED imaging utilization by nonphysician practitioners. He highlighted some great infographics put together by the Michigan Radiological Society to help elucidate the differences in training between radiologists and NPs/chiropractors, check them out here. Overall, Dr. Moriarty’s Carmen lecture gave an overview of some of the biggest challenges currently facing radiology, and sparked some discussions that will surely be continued through the upcoming ACR annual meeting and beyond.
MORads is preparing for the upcoming ACR annual meeting on April 13-17th in Washington, D.C. This year, 4 residents and 2 medical students from Missouri programs will have the opportunity to attend with the assistance of funding provided by MORads. Check out the great programming lineup here, and consider planning to attend ACR 2025.
Congressional appointments are already set to meet with Senators Eric Schmitt and Josh Hawley at Capitol Hill Day on April 17th. Topics to be discussed this year include propose changes to the language of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) regarding utilization of appropriate use criteria, multiple requests regarding the physician workforce crisis and continued discussions regarding long term Medicare payment reform. Much more info is available here.
A quick reminder that the Missouri State Medical Association also works throughout the year on legislative issues that affect the health of Missourians and the profession of medicine in our state, including issues impacting the field of radiology. Consider joining here.
Please check out radiologyadvocacy.org to get involved with the Radiology Advocacy Network (RAN). The RAN Calls to Action provide you with pre-written emails directed to your senators/representatives when time-sensitive legislative issues arise that impact our patients and our profession. Also, consider donating to RADPAC to help fund these advocacy efforts.
Eight trainee members attended this year’s spring meeting. Dr. Alireza Zandifar an R1 resident from UMKC gave a recap of his experience at the RLI Summit 2023. MORads will be sponsoring 2 residents to attend this year’s RLI Summit Sept. 5-8 2024 in Boston, MA. This is an opportunity to learn from experts and grow your network during an immersive weekend with a focus on the workforce challenges that we face with the continued rise in demand for imaging. Links to the application were distributed to residents through program coordinators, please reach out if you need a new copy of the link. Application is due April 10.
Funding opportunities are available for additional RLI programs including the Kickstart Your Career WorkshopWednesday Oct. 23 6-8pm. This combination of pre-recorded lectures and live interactive webinar are focused on topics to help your transition from training to practice. The Leadership Essentials course is a more longitudinal program covering many aspects of radiology business and leadership with pre-recorded lectures followed by 4 virtual interactive Q&A sessions September-December 2024. See the RLI Resident and Fellow Training website for additional details and opportunities.
That’s a wrap for the MORads RFS Spring Meeting Recap!
All the best,
Chelsea, Mitchell and Cody
MORads RFS Executive Board