Can your practice profit from digital radiography?
By Frederick R. Fischer

Most chiropractic equipment is largely a one-time expense; but when it comes to radiography, the expenses go on year after year, long after the equipment has been paid off.

So the question becomes how to curtail, or better yet, eliminate recurring expenses and start building an imaging system that can transform a profit drain into a profit center.

Start by looking at what it costs you to run your current chemical X-ray processing system. Estimate the number of films you take on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

Even if you own your processor outright, there are day-to-day expenses inherent in its use. Consider the cost of film, chemicals, storage, chemical disposal, and maintaining a darkroom as ongoing expenses that will continue as long as you operate a traditional X-ray processor.

A consideration: Digital imaging. Digital imaging processors require none of these consumables to operate. Still, to see if converting to digital is a sound decision, examine the cost of the new equipment available today. Computerized radiography systems are not inexpensive. They are usually priced between $32,000 and $40,000.

WHAT’S THE ROI?

If you have the capital to purchase the system and do not need to finance, then you’ll be looking at this as a long-term

investment that will begin saving you money immediately. But what exactly is the return on investment (ROI) for your practice?

Let’s assume you are processing eight films daily. The annual cost savings for consumables and other associated expenses will be just under $9,000 (see accompanying chart). It would take you an average of four to five years to recoup your investment in a digital system based on these savings.

Afterwards, you could enjoy the use of that $9,000 each year, money you could funnel back into your practice instead of spending on tiresome supplies. Obviously, if you take more than eight films per day, you will see a faster ROI.

BETTER QUALITY

Besides the dollars, does digital make sense for your practice? Like most technological improvements, digital offers tremendous benefits over the old standard and yields advantages that can make a real difference to your practice. The most immediate is increased imaging capability. It’s a superior method of radiographic imaging — superior because it’s faster.

The images can be enhanced and more diagnostic information can be derived. Moreover, the software helps you generate and draw accurate measurements right on the computer image itself and allows you to do so more quickly and easily than on standard film.

Digital images also have the advantage of being in a format that can be sent to colleagues instantly via e-mail for an immediate consultation or diagnostic confirmation. Plus, the images can be burned onto CDs for just pennies, without the need for a film duplicator.

All images are stored and backed up electronically in your patient’s file; so, with a simple mouse click, the current image can be viewed side-by-side with a previous image to reveal improvements or changes in his or her condition.

Other benefits

Furthermore, the patient can see the image immediately on a monitor and you can point out the trouble spots or indicate where improvements have taken place. You can easily enhance visualization by colorizing, magnifying, or brightening portions of the image to help isolate and pinpoint the problem area. This helps to promote more constructive consultations with your patients, and you’ll be giving them a much clearer understanding of their conditions.

If you are currently using an X-ray film processor, you know that it requires regular maintenance and professional cleaning to run effectively and avoid costly repairs. A film processor is an electromechanical device that is full of corrosive chemistry. Film processing creates by-products that must be cleaned away and disposed of. If this is not done regularly, costly problems can ensue. Preventative maintenance will save you a significant sum of money in the end.

A digital imaging system provides a timesaving method of acquiring accurate diagnostic information in less than one minute. While nobody wants to take an unnecessary X-ray, there have probably been times when you didn’t take another image because it would have taken too much time. When it becomes more convenient, you are more likely to take the X-ray you want because it can be done quickly and easily. By taking images on a more consistent basis, you are actually performing a greater service to your patient.

If your state law permits, you can easily train an assistant to use a digital imaging processor. This gives you more time to work directly with patients.

Digital imaging has much greater exposure latitude than film and is more tolerant of under- or over-exposure than standard X-ray film is. If the exposure is not ideal, you can computer-enhance the image and avoid costly retakes and unnecessary patient exposure.

Digital processors work in normal light, generally take up only a small footprint, and produce images in under a minute. In fact, the efficiency and speed of digital radiography can shave almost 15 minutes off a patient visit.

The practitioner looking for a clean, convenient, and cost-effective image processing system — one that will pay back in savings over time as well as provide optimal diagnostic image quality — may wish to run the numbers and carefully weigh the costs and benefits to see if digital makes sense for his practice now and into the future.

Frederick R. Fischer is vice president of AllPro Imaging, Inc. (www.allproimaging.com), a U.S. manufacturer of X-ray equipment for the medical profession. He can be contacted at 621-434-6658, ext. 103 or by e-mail at john@amhe.com.