Comparison of productivity and cost of full-time and part-time faculty members in an academic department of radiology

Governance mechanisms for chronic disease diagnosis and treatment systems in the post-pandemic era

"Re-visits and drug renewal" is difficult for chronic disease patients during COVID-19 and will continue in the post-pandemic era. To overcome this dilemma, the scenario of chronic disease diagnosis and treatment systems was set, and an evolutionary game model participated by four stakeholder groups including physical medical institutions, medical service platforms, intelligent medical device providers, and chronic disease patients, was established. Ten possible evolutionary stabilization strategies (ESSs) with their mandatory conditions were found based on Lyapunov's first method. Taking cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, the top 1 prevalent chronic disease, as a specific case context, and resorting to the MATLAB simulation, it is confirmed that several dual ESSs and four unique ESS circumstances exist, respectively, and the evolution direction is determined by initial conditions, while the evolution speed is determined by the values of the conditions based on the quantitative relations of benefits, costs, etc. Accordingly, four governance mechanisms were proposed. By their adjustment, the conditions along with their values can be interfered, and then the chronic disease diagnosis and treatment systems can be guided toward the desired direction, that is, toward the direction of countermeasure against the pandemic, government guidance, global trends of medical industry development, social welfare, and lifestyle innovation. The dilemma of "Re-visits and drug renewal" actually reflects the uneven distribution problem of qualified medical resources and the poor impact resistance capability of social medical service systems under mass public emergency. Human lifestyle even the way of working all over the world will get a spiral upgrade after experiencing COVID-19, such as consumption, and meeting, while medical habits react not so rapidly, especially for mid or aged chronic disease patients. We believe that telemedicine empowered by intelligent medical devices can benefit them and will be a global trend, governments and the four key stakeholders should act according to the governance mechanisms suggested here simultaneously toward novel social medical ecosystems for the post-pandemic era.

What is the relation between number of sessions worked and productivity of radiologists-a pilot study?

Increasing workloads and the current austerity measures are putting UK radiology departments under considerable stress. We need to look at the most efficient ways to manage radiology departments in order to cope with increasing demand. Consequently, a system is needed that can compare productivity between radiologists with different jobs. We measured workload in a UK radiology department and compared the productivities of consultants working different numbers of sessions, which are called programmed activities (PAs), to identify the optimal job plan structure for reporting productivity. Reporting data was gathered from electronic records for 14 consultants working different numbers of PA during the period April 2010-March 2011. These were converted into relative value unit (RVU) scores using a modified RCSI RVU system. Crude and net workloads were calculated for each consultant by dividing their total RVU score by the number of PAs they were contracted for and how many they spent reporting. The consultants reported 118,001 imaging studies. There was statistically significant variation in productivity between consultants working different numbers of PAs on χ (2) analysis (p < 0.05). Consultants working 12 PAs were more productive than consultants working 11 PAs, with net workloads of 7636 RVU/PA/year versus net 6146 RVU/PA/year, p < 0.05. Although UK consultants working 12 PAs per week are more productive than their colleagues, the reasons why are unclear. We have identified a method that can be developed further to identify efficient working practices in UK radiology departments. However, a UK-specific RVU system would make this productivity analysis more accurate.

Characteristics, satisfaction, and engagement of part-time faculty at U.S. medical schools

PURPOSE

To describe the demographics of part-time faculty at U.S. medical schools and to examine their satisfaction with and perceptions of their workplace.

METHOD

Faculty from 14  Liaison Committee on Medical Education-accredited U.S. medical schools participated in the 2011-2012 Faculty Forward Engagement Survey. The authors calculated descriptive statistics of part-time faculty respondents and used ANOVA and t test analyses to assess significant differences between and among demographic groups.

RESULTS

The survey yielded an overall response rate of 62% (9,600/15,490). Of the part-time faculty respondents, most had appointments in clinical departments (634/674; 94%) and were female (415/674; 62%). Just over 80% (384/474) reported a full-time equivalent of 0.5 or higher. The majority of part-time faculty respondents reported satisfaction with their department and medical school as a place to work (372/496 [75%] and 325/492 [66%]); approximately half agreed that their institution had clear expectations for part-time faculty (210/456; 46%) and provided the resources they needed (232/457; 51%). Significant differences existed between part- and full-time faculty respondents regarding perceptions of growth opportunities and compensation and benefits, with part-time faculty respondents feeling less satisfied in these areas.

CONCLUSIONS

As institutions work to improve the satisfaction of full-time faculty, they should do the same for part-time faculty. Understanding why faculty choose part-time work is important in encouraging the recruitment and retention of the most talented faculty. The findings of this study indicate multiple opportunities to improve the satisfaction and engagement of part-time faculty.

The advantages, disadvantages, and policies for part-time radiologists: report of the ACR Commission on Human Resources

The employment of part-time radiologists (PTRs) has both advantages and disadvantages in various practice settings. The authors examine the pros and cons of PTRs and review the literature regarding PTRs both within and outside the specialty of radiology. The complexity of this issue is manifested in our inability to reach consensus on many policy issues for PTRs. Nevertheless, this article should be helpful in offering an objective, nonbiased background to initiating a discussion on employing PTRs in various radiology practices.

Comprehensive review of the limitations of relative value unit measurements of productivity in academic departments

Measuring radiologist, especially sonologist, productivity has never been of greater interest than now, as radiology has moved from its historical status as a cost center to the largest revenue generator in most institutions. With more local institutional and federal oversight and regulation into the reimbursement and valuation of imaging procedures, including emphasis on outsourcing, overvalued procedures, and bundling, the ability to measure productivity and to draw meaningful conclusions from the data becomes increasingly imperative if we as radiologists and sonologists expect to contribute meaningfully to the process. This article presents a history of the "relative value unit" and discusses the valuation of radiologist/sonologist productivity in this era of ubiquitous high-technology implementation.