|
State of the Profession
-
AVMA workforce study nixes notion of veterinary shortage
4/24/2013
Report calls on practitioners to increase public's demand for services
-
New York Times article rocks veterinary profession
3/18/2013
Crises aired on national stage generate mixed reactions
-
Final destination for Ross veterinary students — Buffalo?
3/7/2013
Abandoned medical facility could become veterinary teaching hospital
-
Influx of veterinary colleges on horizon
1/26/2013
New programs give rise to supply and demand questions
-
BVA fears new school could create surplus of UK veterinarians
11/15/2012
University of Surrey plans to open veterinary school in 2014
-
‘The Incredible Dr. Pol’ asserts innocence despite board discipline
10/8/2012
Star of reality TV show placed on probation
-
Veterinary visits up but pet ownership down
8/10/2012
New AVMA survey results offer mixed prospects for profession
-
Can MDs and DVMs bridge the cultural divide?
7/24/2012
Physician champions concept of 'zoobiquity'
-
Study: No widespread shortage of veterinarians
5/30/2012
Veterinary presence needed in public health, agriculture, food safety
-
No simple answers on supply and demand in veterinary profession
5/29/2012
Workforce data outdated, conflicting
-
Labor Department job outlook for veterinarians: 'Overall ... good'
3/29/2012
New occupational profile less upbeat on small-animal practice, however
-
Private university in Arizona plans new veterinary school
3/8/2012
Midwestern University cites shortage of rural practitioners
-
Labor Department maintains rosy outlook for veterinarians
2/1/2012
Jobs projection contradicts view of many practitioners
-
Student debt relief option: Instant gain, distant pain
1/4/2012
Pros and cons of Income-Based Repayment
-
Independent voice of digital radiology silenced?
10/13/2011
DVMInsight's sale to Idexx viewed by some as contradiction
-
Anniversary inspires veterinary history commemoration
8/18/2011
National Library of Medicine exhibition highlights equine medicine
-
Out of the frying pan, veterinarians mix economic uptick with uncertainty
7/28/2011
Increased competition likely to blunt recovery for veterinary clinics
-
AVMA task force to review merits of foreign accreditation
7/20/2011
Resolution stripped of economic language on advice of AVMA lawyer
-
Dream of veterinary career deterred by school expense
7/7/2011
Student couldn’t justify cost of education
-
Tight job market squeezes large-animal veterinarians
6/27/2011
Some say shortage of food-supply practitioners is over
-
Tough job market compels dogged hunt by new veterinarians
5/19/2011
Fewer grads enjoy luxury of multiple offers
-
Federal bill tackles rural veterinary shortages
5/13/2011
Veterinary Services Investment Act to be introduced
-
Report: unprecedented change in store for AVMA, profession
4/28/2011
'Continuous improvement' prescribed for nation's largest veterinary association
-
New Utah veterinary education program wins approval, funding
3/11/2011
Plan stirs concerns about a potential oversupply of practitioners
-
NAVMEC addresses great challenges facing veterinary profession
3/8/2011
Economist's call for change goes beyond NAVMEC recommendations
-
Veterinary student debt continues to climb
1/4/2011
Despite years of concern, solutions remain elusive
-
Debt problem is everyone’s
1/4/2011
Most student loans financed by taxpayers
|
|
Independent voice of digital radiology silenced?
|
October 13, 2011
By: Jennifer Fiala
For The VIN News Service
A company billed as the “independent voice” of digital
radiology has been bought by one of the largest corporate entities in
veterinary medicine — Idexx.
Now former DVMInsight CEO Dr. Matt Wright is catching flak from
those
who characterize the outspoken champion of independent practice as a
hypocrite.
DVMInsight is in the business of easing the way for
independent radiologists to operate. Wright declined to detail what prompted him to sell his company but says he believes the move to Idexx will only strengthen DVMInsight.
"I'm still managing DVMInsight from offices in San Diego with the same team. Nothing has changed," Wright tells the VIN News Service.
Still, many
are curious about the apparent 180-degree turn Wright has taken. The boarded radiologist positioned his business
as
the antithesis of “faceless” mega-companies.
Idexx Laboratories is best known for its ever-expanding network of
veterinary reference laboratories and in-house diagnostic and detection
equipment for veterinary practices. It’s also known for computer
software and an entire division dedicated to telemedicine.
Wright had eschewed large corporations encroaching on teleradiology
so
much that a competitor has sued him, in part, for making
alleged libelous statements such as this: "We're more effective than the so-called 'big boys' that try to pass off a sweat shop for a teleradiology service." With quarterly earnings reported at $317.9 million,
Idexx presumably was included in Wright’s characterizations.
“What I find really interesting is that Matt wrote this blog about
how terrible corporate teleimaging companies are, and now he is part of
one,” says a board-certified radiologist who spoke on condition of
anonymity, seeking to avoid the controversy. “There’s a little
bit of hypocrisy there.”
Dr. Daniel Feeney, a boarded
radiologist in the University of
Minnesota Veterinary Medical Imaging Group (UMVMIG) who uses DVMInsight daily, is equally perplexed: “Considering the rhetoric he’s put out
there, this isn’t what I expected.”
Unless Idexx makes
significant changes, Feeney says he and his UMVMIG colleagues plan to continue with
DVM Insight, which provides an Internet-based platform that allows them
to send and receive images and consultation reports. They also can
store the information.
“We got a letter from Idexx that says our clients (will remain)
our clients. There will be a name change and likely a few other changes,
but
we are prepared to deal with that,” he says.
As far as the sale of DVMInsight is concerned, Feeney muses:
“Maybe it was the business opportunity of a lifetime. I’m sure
it was a complex decision for Matt.”
Wright built a business serving individual radiologists working
their
own cases and creating their own businesses as a counter to large
companies
that bundle radiology equipment with services manned by a stable of
in-house
radiologists reading images.
The latter model, Wright has argued, drives down pay for
radiologists,
encourages homogenized reports and emphasizes deadlines over accuracy.
“The bottom line with all of this is that commoditizing
teleradiology results in a situation where potentially inexperienced and
underpaid radiologists are pressured to create wish washy reports
because
they need to meet deadlines,” Wright once stated in his online newsletter, Animal Insides.
Whether that newsletter survives the move to Idexx remains to be
seen.
The sale, which closed last month for an undisclosed amount, also
included
DVMInsight subsidiary Sight Hound Radiology, which provided 24-hour
diagnostic teleradiology services to DVMInsight users.
The acquisition was not mentioned in Idexx’s latest Form 8-K report, filed in August. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
mandates that public companies report significant changes such as
mergers
and major purchases in Form 8-K filings.
So far, the Idexx purchase appears to have had little impact on how
DVMInsight and Sight Hound function, though their websites have
been scrubbed of content, including a series of animated skits Wright
narrated that spurred a lawsuit by competitor PetRays Veterinary
Teleradiology Consultants, P.A.
Filed in San Diego
County Superior Court on Aug. 27, 2010, the lawsuit contends that the video skits
published on the Sight Hound Radiology website made misleading and
libelous
statements advertising the services of DVMInsight over the “nameless,
faceless” services of larger corporations.
According to PetRays co-founder Frank Powell, MD, the lawsuit is in
discovery stages, and Wright’s move to Idexx — where he and
DVMInsight’s Chief Technology Officer Stephen Walters now work —
will not shield him from litigation.
“This lawsuit is filed against Matt Wright personally,” he
explains.
In an October 2010 issue of Animal Insides, Wright contends that the lawsuit is without merit.
In a press release, Wright states that the Idexx-DVMInsight
“partnership signals a new beginning for teleradiology where central
services work alongside independent radiologists and referral centers
…”
Dr. John Feleciano, manager of radiology at Idexx, adds: "IDEXX is
committed to making telemedicine easy to use for our clients. Whether
they
use our telemedicine service or use a local radiologist, we want to make
it
simple. Dr. Matt Wright and his team at DVMInsight will help guide us as
we
work to achieve this goal."
Growing its teleradiology division via DVMInsight isn't the only
change slated for Idexx. The company is in the midst of expanding its
reference laboratory in
Memphis, a move that's expected to create 100 new jobs.
At the same time, 25 Idexx workers in Eau Claire, Wis, expect to receive pink
slips
starting in December.
The layoffs are part of a cost-savings plan, Idexx explained in a
local news report. Operations are being consolidated at Idexx headquarters in Westbrook, Maine.
Overall,
Idexx employs 5,000 people with clients in 168 countries.
Sorry, but you do not have authorization to view the news article you requested.
|
|
Search VIN news
All news categories
Follow us
|