At this point, speculation is really only based on conjecture about what health care reform will actually do for the industry, mobile and otherwise.

“I’m not in love with what health care reform is going to do,” says Medical Coaches’ Smith. “The scariest part is nobody knows exactly what the provisions of the [law] entail…People are really afraid to go forward.”


When it comes to mobile service providers reaping the benefits of small imaging clinics closing, the feeling is mixed.

Medical Imaging Resources’ Brinker says it’s a possibility that providers will see an increase in business as clinics close, but that’s largely based on location; it could go either way.

“In the past, that wasn’t a big factor,” he says. “You didn’t see that happening a whole lot. Imaging centers have been downsizing for quite some time.”

Ron Smith, business development manager for Florida-based Brown Specialty Vehicles, said in response to a DOTmed News survey that mobile clinics “are always more useful than a fixed clinic due to the ability to quickly relocate.”

As imaging centers and hospitals look for outside help, mobile service providers could offer a solution.

“Three to four mobile clinics operating from a central base can be more effective than nine to 12 fixed clinics,” he said.

Dr. Peter Rothschild, a radiologist and president of Patient Comfort Systems, heads his own imaging center in urban Louisville, Ky. He has noticed a shift of patients from imaging clinics to mobile service providers contracted by general clinics.

“Obviously they have their own MRI, and they’re going to make money off of it,” he says, referring to doctors who order mobile MRI services for personal benefit. “We see our referrals from that doctor. They wait until that one day a week and go in this mobile [MRI]. This is unfortunate.”

Serving the hard-to-reach communities
Small and rural hospitals often turn to mobile service providers, largely because they don’t have the money or the space to purchase their own equipment.

“The more rural you get, the greater the need [for mobile services],” says Steve Deaton, vice president of sales for Viztek, which manufactures CR/DR software products.

Rural hospitals also utilize mobile services that offer the latest technologies. In some cases, explains DMS’ Holmberg, as modalities age, they gain wider acceptance. For example, right now, PET/CT is fairly new and it’s mainly found in larger, urban hospitals. CT, however, has migrated to the rural market, as costs drop. This means rural hospitals with tight budgets will look to mobile when that PET/CT is needed.

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