During the webinar, NIN shared findings from a provider survey, which represented 91 locations. More than half of respondents expressed uncertainty about remaining profitable after the Medicare reimbursement cuts in 2011 and 69 percent said their exam volume declined over the past 12 months.

When asked what was important to their organization, providers rated growing exam volume (75 percent), improving revenue sources (63 percent) and improving operational efficiency (50 percent) as the top three desired aspects.



Based on survey responses regarding products and services, NIN came up with four different packages, including a set of core and optional support elements. For instance, the "Value Package," which costs a provider $1,500 a month, includes NIN membership, data submission and benchmarking reports, an operational dashboard package, quarterly business performance reviews and an annual capacity and utilization analysis.

Hinged on a premise that larger, well-run businesses with aligned operations are most likely to succeed, NIN also plans to offer up-to-date, national data to policy makers on the status of the outpatient imaging marketplace.

NIN has four members to date and about 44 other imaging sites interested in membership, Baker told DOTmed News. The network is also currently working on contracts with about half a dozen vendors. "I think it's off to a really nice start," he said.

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