Radiology Residents and the Healthcare Landscape

Carol P. Geer, MD, Professor of Radiology and Program Director, Diagnostic Radiology Residency at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, contributed this piece.

As a Diagnostic Radiology Residency Program Director, it is important to ensure that residents not only excel in clinical skills but also understand the broader context of radiology healthcare economics. To this end, we are responsible for ensuring that our residents receive education and have opportunity to progress through the levels of the ACGME’s Physician Role in Health Care Systems subcompetency, a part of the systems-based practice competency. This is vital for preparing residents to function effectively in practice.

Providing education for this ACGME milestone can be a challenge for some residency programs. Here are the top five reasons why I chose to incorporate the RLI Resident Milestones program into Wake Forest’s curriculum:

1. RLI Resident Milestones has been a valued resource for the residents in our program to receive high quality teaching in the area of radiology economics and its complex role in the delivery of patient care.
2. National experts lead the program, with digestible talks on radiology economics topics including payer mix, reimbursement structures, the revenue cycle, and practice models in health systems.
3. Residents can partake in practical learning activities to put their knowledge into practice. They then review their work in live webinars with national radiology economics experts and share their results with residents from other training programs across the country.
4. Our residents leave this robust and engaging educational program with a better understanding of radiology economics and the role it plays in patient care and access.
5. Finally, our residents finish the program asking important questions about the future of radiology—and they often have great ideas of how health systems could potentially do things better and more efficiently for patients.

The field of radiology is influenced not only by advancements in technology and diagnostic techniques but also by ongoing changes in healthcare policies and reimbursement structures, all of which impact our ability to provide high-quality, equitable care for our patients. The RLI Resident Milestones Program helps residents deepen their knowledge of a rapidly changing radiology healthcare landscape – I can’t recommend it enough!