Healthcare experts share personal perspectives with legislators to maintain the highest standards of care
Contact: Chelsea Yi, Mobile: 734.652.3329, chelseay@mrgmi.com
LANSING, Mich. – Yesterday, the Michigan Radiological Society (MRS) held a legislative day at the Capitol, meeting with lawmakers to share firsthand perspectives on the challenges facing radiology practices in Michigan.
The day consisted of meetings with key legislators and opportunities to advocate for patients' best interests and policy issues impacting access, quality and sustainability. Dr. Leah Davis, a radiologist in attendance shared, “Radiologists play a critical role in healthcare and while we are not always patient facing, our practice is vital to patient care plans and diagnoses. We came to Lansing to ensure lawmakers understand both the depth of training we complete to practice in our field and the issues that may impact how we treat patients.” Another radiologist, Dr. Michael Hicks, added, “Most folks do not realize that Radiologists are in fact medical doctors. All of us were in school for well over a decade to be able to properly interpret imaging studies and diagnose patients.”
Key issues discussed by MRS with Legislators are as follows:
- Scope of practice: Radiologists expressed concern over House Bill 4399 and Senate Bill 268 which would expand the scope of practice to Nurse Practitioners, emphasizing that increasing access to care doesn’t ensure all patient needs are met.
- Practice sustainability: The challenges of recruitment and retention were discussed, with ideas of additional education requirements post graduation being introduced to help them and ways to make Michigan a more competitive state for physicians to want to work in. Additionally, the reimbursement climate for insurance is making it harder and harder to keep staff, some radiologists are experiencing upwards of a 10% loss in staff due to this.
- Healthcare costs: Radiologists shared the growing concerns of the rising cost of healthcare in Michigan. They are experiencing financial pressures through continuously increasing operational costs, increasing administrative costs and declining reimbursement rates, putting strain on practices in the state. Rising costs make it more difficult to deliver care and ultimately pass additional costs to patients. They expressed the need to support policies that control healthcare costs and ensure Michigan remains a state with affordable care.
The Michigan Radiological Society, together with the MiRadiologists, have expressed their commitment to radiologists across Michigan and encourage continued conversations with lawmakers. “We’re committed to working with lawmakers on policies that positively help and protect patients across the state and make Michigan a place where physicians want to stay to work and raise their families,” shared Dr. Drew Woodrow, President of the Michigan Radiological Society.
To learn more about MiRadiologists, please visit their website at www.miradiologists.com.
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