The Radiology Business Management Association recently launched a charitable-imaging effort to target patient populations underserved by the specialty.
A 501c3 nonprofit, the Imaging for a Cause Foundation has been around for years and became part of the professional association just prior to the pandemic. RBMA put the program on pause due to the COVID crisis but initiated it at the trade group’s annual meeting last month.
Imaging for a Cause enables practices to donate services in coordination with clinics that treat disadvantaged patient populations.
“By working through the ICF and a local Federally Qualified Health Center, radiology groups can get the tax advantage of donating their professional services. Everyone wins and this very needy patient group gets the imaging services they need,” Executive Director Bob Still told Radiology Business.
RBMA’s board of directors voted to take over the foundation in the hopes of “expanding a very small and promising program,” according to founder Elisabeth Quam. ICF matches community clinics with imaging entities, vetting patients to ensure they do not qualify for coverage prior to their referral. The clinic then commits to providing any necessary follow-up healthcare services, noted Quam, who is also former director of the Center for Diagnostic Imaging (now Rayus Radiology).
No financial paperwork is required and oftentimes the clinic uses the value of donated radiology services to “match” grants from other community foundations or governmental entities. ICF dates back a decade prior to becoming part of RBMA and has served thousands across several states.
“Staff and rads who are involved love the program,” Quam said. “Most of the patients are in very serious shape by the time they are referred.”
The Radiology Business Management Association kicked off this new iteration of Imaging for a Cause at its annual meeting in Las Vegas in late October. Radiology providers can sign up to provide charity care for as few as five patients per month. ICF offers guidance on setting things up and tracking the value of donated services. Quam and colleagues also emphasized, because the program provides care to Federally Qualified Health Center patients, it avoids running afoul of physician self-referral laws.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.