The economic environment of 2006: how safe is your practice and what you can do to protect it.

In 2006, there was no doubt that imaging was in the crosshairs of just about everyone who had a role in legislation, regulation, and payment involving these medical services. The information in this article was presented at the ACR's Annual Meeting and Chapter Leadership Conference in Washington, DC, on May 25, 2006. It describes the factors contributing to the current economic environment for medical imaging, the external responses to those factors, the dangers to practicing radiologists, and potential strategies to mitigate the damage.