by
Sean Ruck, Contributing Editor | November 23, 2011
From the November 2011 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
DMBN: What is unique about the RSNA?
Drayer: RSNA creates the leading educational and scientific materials for all radiologists to share and convenes and provides the meeting place for the most important national or international meeting of radiology professionals and industry on an annual basis. The society has greatly advanced all aspects of imaging and has remained relevant in an era where ideas and innovations are quickly evolving.
DMBN: What’s this year’s show and conference about?
Drayer: The theme of RSNA 2011 is "Celebrate the Image" and how radiology and
radiologists have changed the modern face of healthcare. Recently, pessimism has revolved around complex reimbursement and regulatory issues. Our theme is about the ongoing golden era of radiology related to innovations in CT, MRI, PET, digital X-Ray and ultrasound as well as new preventive and interventional paradigms. Radiologists have been the benefactors of these advances and so we are celebrating the role that they have played in making patient care better, faster, more accurate, and safer.
DMBN: What future role(s) do you intend to play in the society?
Drayer: I hope to remain very involved in the R & E Foundation and continue to promote collaborations among radiology organizations.
DMBN: What advice would you offer for individuals looking to pursue a leadership role with RSNA?
Drayer: People need to volunteer their time and effort in any organization because they believe in its mission and in the case of the RSNA they want to improve the quality of care and skill of every radiologist. Volunteers should enjoy working with people and they will gain the satisfaction of working to help others.
DMBN: What do you believe to be the biggest challenges radiology will face in the future?
Drayer: There are a number of major challenges that will change radiology and how radiologists practice including new payment models and the uncertainty of healthcare reform. We may move to a more service line/institute model and radiologists will collaborate even more closely with clinicians, researchers, and fellow radiologists.
Second, information technology provides both opportunities and threats for our profession. Managing this IT revolution will be an interesting challenge over the next decade.
Radiologists, as patient advocates, will continue to focus on lowering dose. We need to make the public more aware of our pivotal role as well as why we are doing studies like CT scans in such large numbers and how these imaging advances provide safer and more efficient patient care.
