July 27–31 | Colorado Convention Center, Denver

Maximizing radiology department profitability and workflow efficiency will be among the topics on the minds of radiology administrators as more than 1,000 imaging leaders convene for the annual meeting of the American Healthcare Radiology Administrators (AHRA) late this month in Denver. AHRA also is celebrating its 35th anniversary. Dozens of educational sessions are focusing on a range of management issues, including: finance, human resources, communication and information, operations and assets. More than 200 medical imaging equipment and service providers will be displaying their wares and offerings in the exhibit hall.

“We have developed a program that reflects medical imaging administration’s unique challenges and opportunities,” notes AHRA President Jeffrey Palmucci, CRA. “Today’s administrator is responsible for technology, budgets, staffing and customer safety and satisfaction—as well as a host of other areas. This meeting will provide a vast slate of educational sessions with practical information attendees at all experience levels will be able to use every day in their respective facilities.” Here is a sampling of workshops, keynote lectures, educational sessions and roundtable discussion taking place in the Mile High City.


Pre-conference Workshops

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Sunday, July 27, 8:00–12:00 am
Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goals and Special Emphasis on Critical Values

• Judith Atkins, RN, MSN, McKenna & Associates
• Scott Segell, Dictaphone Healthcare Solutions, a division of Nuance Communications
• Michael Cain, University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, Colo.

Frames the National Patient Safety Goals surrounding imaging requirements by presenting an overview of practical examples of how to meet the goals and focusing upon the Critical Values Results and Reporting.

Sunday, July 27, 8:00–12:00 am
Maximizing Your Practice Profitability in Managed-Care Contracting Using the Service Activity Costing Methodology: An Interactive Simulation Workshop Session

• Abraham Seidmann, PhD, W.E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Rochester, Rochester, N.Y.
• Tushar Mehta, MBA, PhD, J&T Operations and Technology Consultants, Rochester, N.Y.

Participants will face several scenarios evaluating various incoming managed-care contracts within the scope of two pivotal capacity decisions: long-term (hardware and facility acquisition) and short-term (labor assignments or multiple shifts). The participants will discover how to maximize the practice value using an accurate assessment of their true procedure and practice cost structures.


Keynote lectures

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Grand Opening Ceremony: Monday, July 28, 9:00–11:00 am
Opening Our Minds: Brain Imaging, Privacy and the Emergence of Neuroethics

• Paul Wolpe, PhD, President, American Society of Bioethics and Humanities

The talk will review some of the most challenging neurotechnologies—psychopharmaceuticals, brain computer interfaces and deep brain stimulators—along with their implications for clinical practice in general and for radiology in particular.

Tuesday, July 29, 9:45–11:00 am
The Trouble with the Future Is…It’s Not What It Used to Be!

• Murray Banks

All levels of leadership are instrumental in setting a climate for improvement and inspiring teams to be resourceful and fluid. Murray will explain why change is so difficult for some colleagues by teaching his “Lava Lamp” philosophy to help prevent “group griping” and reinforce that an optimistic and adaptable mindset is a model to follow.

Wednesday, July 30, 9:45–11:00 am
Why Customer Service Is Not Enough

• Lisa Ford

Today’s organization must focus on customer’s satisfaction and retention with renewed energy. This speech is a combination of content, examples and motivation. Ford relates statistics, strategies and stories, providing a skillset and desire to win and keep customers.


Closing Luncheon & Keynote

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Thursday, July 31, 11:15 am–2:00 pm
Thinking Big and Living Large

• Al Walker

Walker shares humorous stories and real-world examples to illustrate the points he makes during his presentation. Al offers each attendee an imaginary pill and uses the acronym, A PILL, as an outline for the five topics he will cover.


Leadership Institute

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The AHRA Leadership Institute will present its Basic Management Skills Program in conjunction with the meeting. The five-day program will focus on basic management skills, including human resources, communications, operations management, asset management, finance and budgeting for new supervisors and managers.

Sunday, July 27, 1:00-2:00 pm
Verbal Communication and Presentation Skills

• Jay P. Mazurowski, CRA, FAHRA, from Concord Hospital, Concord, N.H.

The session will help build communication strengths and identify areas of opportunity that will improve communication competence. It will focus on several aspects of business communication to assess listening skills and improve the ability to listen actively.

Sunday, July 27, 4:30-5:30 pm
Developing and Implementing Operational and Regulatory Procedures

• Debra A. Lopez, CRA, FAHRA, from Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, San Jose, Calif.

Maintaining current policies and procedures requires efficient 
construction of interdisciplinary and departmental policies and 
procedures. The speaker will share a roadmap checklist indicating committee trails for approval, due dates of revision and regulations.

Monday, July 28, 2:30-4:00 pm
Face-to-Face Communication

• Jeffrey A. Palmucci, CRA, from Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Wauwatosa, Wis.

The session will cover a radiology leader’s role in offering community education as well as staff education. 

Tuesday, July 29, 8:00-9:30 pm
Quality Improvement

• Sandra A. Anderson, CRA, FAHRA, from Memorial Hospital, Colorado Springs, Colo.

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 because customer service and satisfaction has become and increasing focus in healthcare.

Thursday, July 31, 8:00-9:30am
Monitoring Employee Performance: Coaching, Counseling and Performance Improvement

• Terry A. Dowd, CRA, FAHRA, RT, from Banner Baywood Medical Center, Mesa, Ariz.

A well-developed orientation program allows a manager to get to know the employee’s strengths and weaknesses. Coaching from the manager, preceptors and peers in formal sessions at specified intervals, as well as informal consistent feedback facilitates two-way dialogue.

Roundtables

AHRA roundtables are a new program series that provide a forum where administrators can discuss their biggest headaches and share ideas and solutions with their peers. Each topic will be an open discussion guided by a moderator. No special registration is required for these break events. Monday, July 28, 8:00–9:00 am Emerging Technologies Rick Perez Monday, July 28, 8:00–9:00 am Recruitment and Retention/Employee Satisfaction Jay Mazurowski & Sandy Anderson Tuesday, July 29, 7:00–8:00 am Quality Improvement Doug Cathon Tuesday, July 29, 7:00–8:00 am Strategies for Dealing with the DRA Hazel Hacker Wednesday, July 30, 7:00–8:00 am Surviving a JCAHO Visit Linda McIntire