Basic Track:
Tuesday, October 28 – Thursday, October 30
(subject to change)

Tuesday, October 28

8:00 AM – 9:30 AM
Quality Improvement
Ernie Cerdena CRA, PhD(C), CRA, FAHRA, FACHE 
Parkview Adventist Medical Center, Brunswick, ME

Attendees will learn how to use data for acquiring equipment, improve processes, justify team members, as well as learn how to collect, organize, analyze and present data. Customer service and satisfaction has become and increasing focus in healthcare. Physicians and their patients are looking at healthcare providers for a positive patient experience. The customer focus is growing in relevance to the patients visit. The challenge of continuously improving is more important than ever. Identifying your customers to create a pleasant experience as well as positive patient outcomes is the new challenge. The healthcare industry has recognized that physicians and patients have a choice of where they go for care. How does your facility become more desirable than the others? One answer is an all-encompassing look at the customer’s total experience, start to finish. Key to addressing their needs is continuous assessment of critical customer satisfiers. Knowing how to recognize, evaluate and implement change to meet your customers’ needs is critical. Understanding the need is only part of the answer; implementation is the differentiator. Continuous improvement and change is a necessity to success. Breaking down the process into small tangible tasks that can improve the patient experience will give you the competitive edge in pursuit of customer service excellence.

 You will learn to:
  • Find areas for improvement.
  • Organize change.
  • Implement change.
  • Discuss the keys to success.

9:45AM - 11:15AM
Written Business Communication
Maureen Firth, CRA, FAHRA
Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY

Business writing is functional writing. The importance of written communication in business is emphasized in this class.  Informal as well as formal writing will be discussed.  Providing clear, accurate information to those who make major decisions regarding equipment is our responsibility.  These purchases directly affect the success of our facilities.  We will discuss the 5 C’s of written communication, the 5 steps to successful writing and formation of policies and procedures that address regulatory requirements.  As imaging leaders the written communication we provide must be clear and succinct. We can all be successful writers by learning just a few skills!

You will learn to:
  • Ensure that your communications are well written.
  • Ensure that your communications are understood clearly and well received.
  • Name the five keys to successful business writing.
  • Recognize the architecture of simple and complex documents including policies & procedures required to meet operational needs and regulatory requirements.
  • Avoid some common mistakes.

11:30AM - 12:30PM
The Employment Continuum: Part I
Maureen Firth, CRA, FAHRA
Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY

1:30PM - 2:30PM
The Employment Continuum: Part II
Maureen Firth, CRA, FAHRA
Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY

Soup to nuts.  This session will cover key ways to recruit, interview, hire, coach and retain talent in your imaging departments.  Definition of Continuum: a continuous extent, succession, or whole, not part of which can be distinguished from neighboring parts.  Does this sound easy to achieve when discussing staff who report to you?  This session will offer you strategies to help you approach human resource matters with understanding and patience.  Work force continuums will quickly become models to others by demonstrating how candidates can enter a workforce, develop in their careers and stay put.  

Part 1 will emphasize the first step in seamless succession of career development focusing on interviewing with a mission to hire a person with the right fit, building the workforce through appropriate orientation measures, team building skills, relationship building, competency assessments and performance evaluations to reward approaches that will help develop a sound team (Recruit, Interview, Onboarding, Orientation and Training).

Part 2 emphasizes the next step to team building through Employee Engagement; Developing Accountable team members through Coaching, Counseling and Accountability.  

You will learn to:
  • Match your needs with the right candidate by interviewing and hiring smartly.
  • Develop your team with seamless approaches to the “next step”.
  • Produce an atmosphere of commitment and communication with a focus on quality, safety, and customer service.
  • Reward and retain employees effectively.
  • Align behavior to goals.
  • Develop shared expectations.
  • Create exercises for effective coaching and counseling.

2:45PM - 4:15PM
Patient Satisfaction in Today's Healthcare Environment
Ernie Cerdena CRA, PhD(C), CRA, FAHRA, FACHE 
Parkview Adventist Medical Center, Brunswick, ME

In today’s healthcare environment patient satisfaction has transitioned from a general satisfaction metric into the world of quality/outcomes measurement.  Healthcare managers must be poised to manage in an environment where transparency of operations and customer expectations are driving the healthcare market place.

You will learn to:
  • Understand the regulatory environment related to patient satisfaction.
  • Learn to evaluate and work towards a culture for patient centric decision making.
  • Learn to use reactive and proactive techniques that will assist in managing customer expectations.

Wednesday, October 29

8:00AM - 9:00AM
Art of Negotiation
Jay Mazurowski, MS,CRA, FAHRA
Concord Hospital, Concord, NH

This session will define what negotiation is and describe situations where good negotiating skills may come in handy. The session will focus on important negotiations that occur in the imaging work environment and more specifically on negotiating for services, supplies, and capital purchases. Participants will learn the importance of and how to prepare for negotiation. Attendees will understand needs vs. wants vs. desires and what can be negotiated. Some negotiating styles, strategies and tactics will be explored, and body language also will be discussed. The session will wrap up with a discussion on completing and reviewing your negotiation result.

You will learn to:
  • Define “negotiation.”
  • Understand how good negotiation skills give you an edge.
  • Prepare for negotiations.
  • Manage the negotiation process.
  • Use various negotiation styles.
  • Understand and use body language.

Budgeting for Business Management
9:15AM - 10:45AM: Part I
11:15AM - 12:15PM: Part II
Luann Culbreth, CRA,FAHRA,MBA
Saint Thomas Health-Baptist Hospital, Nashville, TN

NOTE: You must attend Part 1 AND Part 2 of this session to get CE credit – no partial credit will be granted.

A medical imaging administrator wears many hats; one of which is the complicated hat of budgeting. In the financial world of imaging there are many different types of budgets. This session will give participants an overview of these different types of budgets and an understanding of how to plan and design them, especially the operating budget. Attendees will also learn about capital planning and how to plan for staffing additions and will see several examples of how to monitor important financial data with respect to your department of responsibility. Other topics to be addressed include staffing analysis, productivity measures, business plans and proformas, and capital planning.

You will learn to:
  • Understand types of budgets encountered in medical imaging management.
  • Understand operating budgets and capital planning.
  • Use tools for monitoring salary, productivity and staffing within the budgeting process.
  • Campaign for staffing additions to the budget.
  • Understand business plans and proformas and their role in new program development and budgeting.

1:15PM - 2:45PM
Managerial Communication: Communicating More Effectively in the Workplace
Jay Mazurowski, MS,CRA, FAHRA
Concord Hospital, Concord, NH

Communication is an essential leadership tool; if you learn to communicate well, you will be more credible and effective. This session will help you to build your communication strengths and identify areas of opportunity and improvement. We will focus on several aspects of business communication including verbal and non-verbal messages. You will assess your current listening skills and learn tips for improving your ability to listen attentively. We will also discuss the art of persuasion and explore the use of hypnotic language and power words.

The ability to speak confidently in a variety of business settings, both formal and informal is the mark of effective communicators. In this session, you will learn methods to systematically prepare materials for presentation or written proposal. We will also focus on the importance of translating your messages for your target audience.

You will learn to:
  • Connect emotionally with people in the workplace.
  • Become credible and persuasive.
  • Listen more attentively.
  • Appreciate body language meanings.
  • Speed-read personality types for more effective communication and teamwork.
  • Methodically prepare for presentations and business proposals.
  • Speak with more authority and effectiveness.

3:15PM - 4:15PM
Marketing Matters: Building Basics
Jeff Palmucci, CRA, FAHRA
Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN

Competitive markets and diminishing resources create high-level attention on how marketing impacts your future. No longer can you and your staff register for a marketing-exempt status. Keeping employees, physicians, patients and the community abreast of the activities in the hospital radiology department and imaging centers requires solid planning and innovative thinking. This interactive session will demonstrate the nuts and bolts of marketing, both internal and external, marketing plans and strategies, and the team commitment needed for growth.

You will learn to:
  • Identify the key components of marketing.
  • Examine how all employees are integral to the marketing team.
  • Understand how building a marketing program not only increases financial performance, but also builds strong relationships both internally and externally for your organization.

4:45PM - 6:15PM
Cocktail Reception with Exhibitors

Thursday, October 30

8:00AM - 9:00AM
Introduction to Project Management
Jeff Palmucci, CRA, FAHRA
Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN

Rarely a year goes by when a medical imaging administrator does not have a project to manage, whether it be replacing legacy equipment or starting a new service. Regardless of the scope of the project, its successful implementation is dependent on effective project management. Some projects are organization-wide, and the medical imaging administrator will be a member of the team; other projects are “imaging-centric” so the administrator leads the project. This presentation will include basic terminology and tools used to manage any project. A case study will be presented to illustrate all the steps.

You will learn to:
  • Understand the basic terminology of project management.
  • Create a timeline for a project using a Gantt Chart.
  • Define team members needed for an imaging project.

9:15AM - 10:45AM
Introduction to Asset Management
Kenneth Fazzino, BA, CRA, RTR, PMP, FAHRA
Nuance, Burlington, MA

Asset management encompasses many facets. There is replacement and purchase of additional equipment. In conjunction, a medical imaging manager must prepare capital budgets and justifications to replace or add the equipment. A manager must consider construction costs, information services costs, engineering costs and service costs in the proposed purchase. Financial options must be evaluated and a manager must prioritize the capital budget for senior leadership and/or board. Asset management includes analyzing the useful life of the equipment and lifecycle costs such as maintenance, service, supplies and upgrades. Benchmarking data can assist the radiology manager in their justifications.

You will learn to:
  • Understand different components of asset management in radiology.
  • Justify capital equipment for purchase.
  • Understand different costs associated with asset management.
  • Use benchmarking data to evaluate utilization of equipment and justify replacement and/or additional equipment.

11:15AM - 12:15PM
Introduction to Imaging Informatics
Kenneth Fazzino, BA, CRA, RTR, PMP, FAHRA
Nuance, Burlington, MA

Imaging informatics is a distinct subspecialty of radiology that endeavors to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and reliability of radiologic services within the medical enterprise. Although picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) are a major focus of imaging informatics, there are many other ways in which technology can improve the efficiency of individual radiologists and of the entire department. Understanding informatics principles is important because these principles affect major purchase decisions, not only for PACS but also for other supporting software and for modalities themselves. Virtually every aspect of a radiologist's workday involves some form of communication: calling a colleague for patient history, calling a technologist to apply a protocol or check an image, reviewing images with a clinician, teaching a trainee, producing a formal report, justifying an examination to a third-party payer. All of these events fall under the purview of imaging informatics, and all of them, along with image interpretation itself, can become more efficient, more effective, and more reliable with the proper tools.

You will learn to:
  • Understand the basic components and terminology of imaging informatics.
  • Review and chart data flow for improved efficiencies and discuss an imaging leader’s role in successful IT improvements. 
  • Discuss imaging’s role in the “meaningful use” of an EMR.