​The Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) determines how physicians are paid for their services and is essential in the healthcare reimbursement process. However, in the field of Radiation Oncology (RO), the current state of PFS has been facing consecutive years of significant challenges. 

​Immobilization devices are essential tools used in radiation therapy to ensure that radiation is delivered precisely to the targeted area while minimizing exposure to surrounding healthy tissues. This equipment plays a critical role in achieving effective and safe cancer treatment. 

In an era where technology increasingly intersects with healthcare, artificial intelligence (AI) emerges as a beacon of innovation, promising to redefine the contours of medical diagnostics and treatment. Healthcare is on the cusp of unlimited possibilities to integrate AI including large language models (LLMs), foundational models, multimodal fusion, and more. We are facing a massive challenge of healthcare burnout due to tedious duties and a shortage of qualified workers. There are high demands for faster and more accurate turnaround times with the expectation that a promising treatment or even cure is always around the corner. We have the opportunity to streamline medicine from predictive to diagnostics and treatment. 

The first few years for a radiation therapist are unlike any other time in their career. They have learned a lot while earning their degree and obtaining their American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) certification. However, they are just starting to gain real experience with patient care.  

While patient care remains the top priority for radiation therapists, it’s important to acknowledge their involvement in charge capture and billing. Who is better than the person providing the services to the patient to capture the representative codes? Even if they’re not tasked with reporting billing codes or fully grasping billing intricacies, therapists bear the responsibility of doing their best to get it correct.  
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By: Ron DiGiaimo, MBA, FACHE | Orest Boyko, MD, PhD | John Montville, MBA, FACHE, FACMPE, FACCC, COA | Bri Driggers

“AI” is the hottest buzzword for 2023 – and maybe all of the 2020s. Some discussions of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have included additional wording at the start of the phrase such as “Assistive”, “Augmented”, “Autonomous”, or “Adoption”. Regardless of the viewpoint, AI is on everyone’s mind, and it’s got many people divided on their perception of it. As with many technological innovations and advancements, the healthcare community is excited by innovation if they are early adopters, or reticent on this innovation and willing to be late adopters who tend to be in the majority of providers.  

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By Ron DiGiaimo, MBA, FACHE, John Montville, MBA, FACHE, FACMPE, FACCC, COA, Marc Gelinas, MHA, CMPE, FACHE, and Bri Driggers​

Whether you started as a radiation therapist or nurse and worked your way up to management or you are coming into the role from the business and healthcare administration side, accepting a role in radiation oncology administration is a huge career step. Every patient who steps into your office is dealing with immense physical, emotional, and potentially financial difficulties, and they are counting on you to ensure they get the best care available.
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We understand that this can be quite a daunting undertaking for anyone. As a result, we sat down with some of the industry’s most experienced radiation oncology administrators to ask them what they wished they had known at the start of their careers. Ron DiGiaimo (CEO of RCCS), John Montville (executive director of Oncology Service Line at Bon Secours Mercy Health/Lourdes Hospital), and Marc Gelinas (VP of The Oncology Group) have five pieces of advice to help new administrators thrive during their first few years in the role.

By: Ron DiGiaimo, MBA, FACHE and Briauna Driggers

Healthcare has made a major impact on our country’s economy, and it is interesting to see how cancer care fits into that picture.  There are many moving parts to the oncology portion of healthcare economics; medical oncology and the associated high-cost drugs, surgical oncology, and radiation oncology being the most known and utilized.  We quickly recognize that Radiation Oncology has the lowest number of practicing physicians nationally of those three specialties.  

By Ron DiGiaimo, MBA, FACHE, Matt Palmer, MBA, CMD, Jon Hopkins, BSRT(R)(T), and Briauna Driggers

​FLASH proton therapy is a groundbreaking technological advancement in the world of cancer care that has the promise to save lives, ease the patient experience, and open the door for numerous advancements in the field of radiation oncology. 

By: Ron DiGiaimo, MBA, FACHE, Dr. Barbara McAneny, MD, Marc Gelinas, and Ben Adams

Cancer growth and cancer care have never stopped in the world of Oncology and the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitals and cancer centers faced unique challenges and were forced to adapt quickly to ensure the safety of cancer patients, at heightened risk. Across the nation, oncologists, healthcare workers, and patients came together to overcome the challenges and produce incredible solutions that may be with us for years post-pandemic. 

By: Ron DiGiaimo, MBA, FACHE, Dr. Michael L. Steinberg, MD, FASTRO, FACR, Ben Adams, and Briauna Driggers

Cancer growth and cancer care have never stopped in the world of Oncology and the COVID-19 pandemic. However, within the wider scope of healthcare, fast legislative and operation reform and comparisons to previous pandemic public reactions such as the AIDS crisis in the 1980s provide interesting takeaways to analyze. We saw oncologists, healthcare workers, and patients come together to overcome the challenges and produce incredible solutions that may be with us for years post-pandemic.