Leslie, et al...
I think a pivotal point in my offering a service in the office, contracted or not, is whether I am as qualified as the competing providers to interpret the results of a test that equipment generates (overreading or not). I have hospital privileges in stress EKG's, and Holter monitors, so it does not bother me to buy the equipment for my office to provide the same test more cheaply and keep the profit, as the result would be interpreted by me the same way both places. But, I am not trained as a radiologist, so office echos and DEXA's are out for me. I am trained and privileged in GI endoscopy, and used to do them in the office, but it is much more efficient for me to use the hospital endoscopy suite, and they have better safety equipment and personnel than I can afford, so I do them there. I just want to look myself in the mirror and know that the service I am providing in office is as good or better than is available elsewhere, not just more lucrative.
