Nuclear Medicine Department Sentiment Improves on 2022 Procedure Volume Expectations

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SPECT Gamma Camera

2022 Nuclear Medicine department procedure volumes are expected to increase but reimbursement, revenue and net income are expected to stay the same, according to IMV Medical Information Division’s newly published 2022 Nuclear Medicine Market Outlook Report. Compared to IMVs 2018 Nuclear Medicine Market Outlook Report, respondents are more optimistic about procedure volume and less pessimistic about revenue, reimbursement and net income, indicating an improvement in sentiment for centers utilizing Nuclear Medicine (NM) systems.

As of early 2022 COVID-19 continued to have an impact on NM operations, with 11% of respondents indicating it as having a “high impact” and 35% stating a “medium impact” in their facilities. The impact was primarily driven by requirements for technologists to wear PPE, cancellations or no-shows of appointments due to fear of exposure to COVID and/or stay at home guidelines and by declines in patient volumes.

Supply chain challenges associated with COVID-19 have resulted in 14% of sites that use radiopharmaceuticals indicating there have been changes in how they order NM radiopharmaceuticals. These changes include changes to order frequency and timing as well as reduced dosing.

Nuclear medicine departments continue to prioritize improving patient satisfaction with their NM experience and satisfying the needs of referring physicians according to the 2022 IMV study. These priorities are closely followed by a focus on managing staffing levels to meet patient volume and scheduling needs, obtaining/maintaining Nuclear Medicine department accreditation and improving NM department workflow and productivity.

Currently, an estimated 25% of nuclear medicine sites perform radionuclide therapy procedures. This percentage increases to 45-65% of sites performing these procedures when only considering 200+ bed hospitals.

Most fixed NM cameras are currently installed in hospitals (57%) with 43% in non-hospital locations. Within non-hospital locations, 74% of the 43% non-hospital locations (32% of total) are physician office locations.

The installed base of fixed NM cameras increased slightly, by 2% to 14,860 units, compared to the 2018 study, driven primarily by an 11.9% increase in installations at non-hospital sites. 

In 2022, a combined 41% of sites are “Yes” or “Maybe” planning to purchase NM cameras over the next three years. Indicating NM camera purchase intent is down from 53% of sites in 2018 and in line with 40% of sites in 2015.

Davin Korstjens is Senior Market Research Program Manager at IMV Medical Information Division, part of Science and Medicine Group.

IMV’s 2022 Nuclear Medicine Market Outlook Report explores market trends in U.S. hospitals and imaging centers, including procedure volume, manufacture-installed base features and share, the use of OEM vs. third-party service providers, purchase plans, brand loyalty and site operations characteristics.

The 2022 Nuclear Medicine Market Outlook Report was published in June 2022 and is based on responses from 338 radiology/Nuclear Medicine administrators who participated in IMV’s nationwide survey in February – April 2022. Their responses have been projected to the IMV-identified universe of hospitals and imaging centers in the U.S. that use Nuclear Medicine systems to perform Nuclear Medicine imaging, and the report provides market forecast scenarios addressing the Nuclear Medicine unit market in the United States for 2021-2024. Vendors covered in this report include Siemens, GE, Philips, Canon, Digirad, Spectrum Dynamics and more.

For information about purchasing IMV’s 2022 Nuclear Medicine Market Outlook Report, visit the corporate website at https://www.imvinfo.com or call 703-778-3080 ext. 1033 to speak with a representative.Disclosure: IMV Medical Information Division is a sister company of AuntMinnie.com.

Varian Earns IMV 2021 ServiceTrak Awards

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Varian has received 2021 ServiceTrak awards in multiple categories related to customer satisfaction in the company’s radiation therapy business. Varian received the awards at the RSNA 2021 meeting.

IMV’s ServiceTrak reports are derived from phone interviews IMV conducts with imaging professionals in hospital departments and independent imaging centers in the U.S. Respondents are asked to rate their level of satisfaction with equipment manufacturers, as well as system performance and the quality of service received for their imaging equipment

Varian received ServiceTrak awards in the following categories:
Best Customer Satisfaction — Radiation Oncology
Best System Performance — Radiation Oncology
Best Service — Radiation Oncology

The awards were presented to Varian executives at RSNA 2021 by Tom Ogburn, chief commercial officer of IMV’s parent company, Science and Medicine Group.

Siemens Healthineers Earns IMV 2021 ServiceTrak Award

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Siemens Healthineers has received 2021 ServiceTrak Awards in multiple categories related to customer satisfaction in the company’s medical imaging business. Siemens received the awards at the RSNA 2021 meeting.

Siemens Healthineers received ServiceTrak awards in the following categories:
Best Customer Satisfaction — CT
Best Customer Satisfaction — MR
Best Customer Satisfaction — Nuclear Medicine (SPECT)
Best System Performance — Nuclear Medicine (SPECT)
Best Customer Satisfaction — PET
Best System Performance — PET

The awards were presented to Siemens executives at RSNA 2021 by Tom Ogburn, chief commercial officer of IMV’s parent company, Science and Medicine Group.

Almost One Third of US Hospitals are Planning to Purchase Fixed General X-ray Systems within the Next 4 Years

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An estimated 126.8 million X-ray procedures were performed on fixed general X-ray systems in main radiology departments and other locations managed by radiology, according the newly released 2021 X-ray DR/CR Market Outlook Report.  Technology advancements have contributed to the adoption of DR systems while usage of CR systems has declined throughout the past decade.

Market drivers to reduce radiation exposure for patients and faculty has contributed to the increase in demand for DR systems.  Compared to IMV’s 2010 study, the adoption of DR systems has progressed quickly, as the percentage of main radiology departments having DR systems has grown from 9% to the current 82%, while those having CR systems has declined from 81% to 8% of facility sites.  Keeping hospital departments up to date with state-of-the-art technology is a departmental priority with 73% of IMV’s 2021 survey respondents rating this as important.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact nationwide on workflow procedures and lead to an increase in the usage of mobile systems.  According to IMV’s survey conducted from April to May 2021, 87% of the general X-ray sites reported that radiology owns or manages mobile/portable X-ray imaging units.  64% of respondents reported a recent surge in the use of mobile X-ray equipment within their facility.  Radiology departments are planning to purchase additional mobile systems in the upcoming years.

IMV’s 2021 survey concluded almost three quarters (88%) of mobile X-ray units owned/managed by radiology use DR technology and 12% use CR cassettes only.  Respondents reported systems located outside of the main radiology department (that are owned or managed by radiology) are in the emergency room (69%), inpatient/med-surg floors (57%), surgery/OR (48%) and intensive care/ICU (41%).

More information on this topic can be obtained in IMV’s full report — X-Ray Market Outlook

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Jennifer Weldon is Senior Imaging Analyst, at IMV Medical Information Division, part of Science and Medicine Group.  IMV’s  2021 X-ray DR/CR Market Outlook Report discovers market trends in U.S. hospitals and radiology centers, including procedure volume, manufacture installed base and market share, the use of OEM vs. third-party service providers, purchase plans, and site operations characteristics.  IMV’s  2021 X-ray DR/CR Market Outlook Report was published in July 2021 and is based on responses from 294 X-ray administrators/managers of radiology who participated in IMV’s nationwide survey from April-May 2021. Their responses have been projected to the IMV-identified universe of hospitals and x-ray centers in the U.S. that use fixed and mobile X-ray DR/CR systems from 2021-2024.  Vendors covered in this report include Agfa, Carestream, Canon/Toshiba, Del Medical, Fujifilm, GE, Konica Minolta, Philips, Samsung, Siemens, Shimadzu, and Swissray. 

 

5 Findings from Our Most Recent X-ray DR CR Market Outlook Report

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IMV recently published our 2021 X-ray DR CR Market Outlook Report. The report can be found at: https://imvinfo.com/product/2021-x-ray-dr-cr-market-outlook-report/. Following were the findings made:
  • Radiology in Charge: As of this 2021 survey, 87% of the general x-ray sites reported that radiology owns or manages mobile/portable x-ray imaging units, including units located outside of radiology.
  • Digital Dominance: Over four fifths (92%) of the hospitals have mobile DR units and 21% have mobile CR units (960 sites). Almost three quarters (88%) of the mobile x-ray units owned/managed by radiology use DR technology and 12% use CR cassettes only. Compared to IMV’s 2010 study, the percent of mobile x-ray units with DR technology has increased from 8% to 88%. Concurrently, the percent of mobile x-ray units that use CR cassettes only has decreased from 84% to 12%.
  • Three Unites Average: Overall, the average number of mobile general x-ray units per site is 2.6 units. The average number per 400+ bed hospital is 7.4, and decreases by hospital bed size to 1.4 in <100 bed hospitals.
  • ERs, Surgery, ICU’s also X-Ray Users: The top four departments where the mobile/portable x-ray units are being used outside of the main radiology department (that are owned or managed by radiology) are the emergency room (69%), inpatient/med-surg floors (57%), surgery/OR (48%), and intensive care/ICU (41%).
  • Mobile Use Grows: An estimated total of 66.4 million procedures were performed in 2020 on mobile x-ray units in 4,570 hospitals.

More Information can be obtained in IMV’s full report on the topic — X-Ray Market Outlook.