COVID-19 Cut Ultrasound Exam Volume by 50% in April 2020

/in /by

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a 50% decline in exam volume in April 2020, at hospitals using general ultrasound equipment, according to a new report from IMV Medical Information Division. But hospitals are seeing volume rebound as they plan a return to normal operations.

The report found that an estimated 38.5 million patient exams were performed in 2019 using general ultrasound equipment that radiology/imaging departments in U.S. hospitals own or manage for their hospitals and associated outpatient locations. Read more →

“Top 5” Quiz on the Use of Post-Warranty Service Contracts for Diagnostic Imaging Equipment in U.S. Hospitals

/in /by

Take this “top 5” pop quiz and then view the answers!

The answers are drawn from IMV’s 2020 Diagnostic Imaging Equipment Service Outlook Report which provides insight into the types of post-warranty service arrangements used by U.S. hospitals for eleven key imaging modalities: CT, MRI, PET/CT, nuclear medicine/SPECT cameras, fixed C-arms, portable C-arms, fixed and mobile general X-ray, radiographic fluoroscopy (RF), mammography, and ultrasound.

Read more →

While COVID-19 Has Impacted the Need for “Break-and-Fix” Service Support in the Short Term, Lessons Learned from COVID Will be Part of the New Normal

/in /by

As mentioned in our June 2nd blog highlighting some results from IMV’s newly published 2020 Diagnostic Imaging Equipment Service Outlook Report, the types of support services hospitals typically have in their current service contracts are the classic “break-and-fix” and preventive maintenance (PM) services, including “PM visits during routine working hours,” “technical support by telephone,” “contracted on-site response time for service visits,” “OEM parts,” and “remote diagnostics.” These support services address a key department priority to “reduce the mean time to repair imaging equipment,” which two thirds of the respondents indicated is a top priority to address over the next few years.

Read more →

Imaging Departments in U.S. Hospitals Increasingly Focused on Value-Added Support Services beyond “Break-and-Fix”

/in /by

In today’s fast-paced and changing healthcare market, hospitals are closely scrutinizing their total cost of ownership for diagnostic imaging equipment. With ongoing pressure on their revenue sources, coverage for equipment maintenance, repair, and value-added services continue to be critical considerations in such budgetary decisions, according to IMV’s newly published 2020 Diagnostic Imaging Equipment Service Outlook Report.

Read more →

The Impact of COVID-19 on Imaging Facilities in the US and Europe

/in /by
COVID-19 Imaging Facility Tracker

IMV has been conducting its COVID-19 Imaging Facilities Tracking Study since April 10, 2020 on a biweekly basis, surveying imaging professionals in the United States and Europe about the impact of COVID-19 on their procedure volume, imaging budgets, and department operations.

The Wave 2 data collection was completed on May 7th, and maps of the respondents’ sentiment on the impact on their non-coronavirus procedure volume in the US and Europe can be accessed from the home page of this IMV website. The maps depict the respondents’ answers to the question “Is your department experiencing a major, minor, or no decline in non-coronavirus procedure volume due to COVID-19?” These maps can be viewed to see the results for each survey wave by state for the US and by country for Europe. (As of this date, you can also see interim results to this question from Wave 3, whose data collection will end on May 21st.)

Read more →