Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
J Am Coll Radiol. 2020 Nov;17(11):1525-1531. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2020.07.028. Epub 2020 Aug 4.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic affected radiology practices in many ways. The aim of this survey was to estimate declines in imaging volumes and financial impact across different practice settings during April 2020.
The survey, comprising 48 questions, was conducted among members of the ACR and the Radiology Business Management Association during May 2020. Survey questions focused on practice demographics, volumes, financials, personnel and staff adjustments, and anticipation of recovery.
During April 2020, nearly all radiology practices reported substantial (56.4%-63.7%) declines in imaging volumes, with outpatient imaging volumes most severely affected. Mean gross charges declined by 50.1% to 54.8% and collections declined by 46.4% to 53.9%. Percentage reductions did not correlate with practice size. The majority of respondents believed that volumes would recover but not entirely (62%-88%) and anticipated a short-term recovery, with a surge likely in the short term due to postponement of elective imaging (52%-64%). About 16% of respondents reported that radiologists in their practices tested positive for COVID-19. More than half (52.3%) reported that availability of personal protective equipment had become an issue or was inadequate. A majority (62.3%) reported that their practices had existing remote reading or teleradiology capabilities in place before the pandemic, and 22.3% developed such capabilities in response to the pandemic.
Radiology practices across different settings experienced substantial declines in imaging volumes and collections during the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020. Most are actively engaged in both short- and long-term operational adjustments.
2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行以多种方式影响了放射科的实践。本调查的目的是估计 2020 年 4 月不同实践环境下的成像量下降和财务影响。
该调查包括 48 个问题，于 2020 年 5 月在 ACR 和放射科业务管理协会的成员中进行。调查问题集中在实践人口统计学、数量、财务、人员和员工调整以及复苏预期。
在 2020 年 4 月，几乎所有放射科实践都报告成像量大幅下降（56.4%-63.7%），其中门诊成像量受影响最严重。毛收入下降了 50.1%至 54.8%，收入下降了 46.4%至 53.9%。减少的百分比与实践规模无关。大多数受访者认为数量会恢复，但不会完全恢复（62%-88%），预计会短期恢复，由于择期成像的推迟（52%-64%），短期内可能会出现激增。约 16%的受访者报告其实践中的放射科医生 COVID-19 检测呈阳性。超过一半（52.3%）的人报告个人防护设备的供应已经成为问题或不足。大多数（62.3%）报告称，在大流行之前，他们的实践已经具备远程阅读或远程放射学能力，22.3%的实践因大流行而开发了这种能力。
在 2020 年 4 月 COVID-19 大流行的初始阶段，不同环境下的放射科实践都经历了成像量和收入的大幅下降。大多数都在积极进行短期和长期的运营调整。
