One of the four options we have in any problem situation is acceptance. Validation is one way that we communicate acceptance of ourselves and others. Validation doesn't mean agreeing or approving. When your best friend or a family member makes a decision that you really don't think is wise, validation is a way of supporting them and strengthening the relationship while maintaining a different opinion. Validation is a way of communicating that the relationship is important and solid even when you disagree on issues.

Validation is the recognition and acceptance of another person's thoughts,feelings, sensations, and behaviors as understandable. Self-validation is the recognition and acceptance of your own thoughts, feelings, sensations and behaviors as understandable. 

Learning how to use validation effectively takes practice. Knowing the six levels of validation as identified by Marsha Linehan, Ph.D. will be helpful.

Are you asking the right questions? Are you exploring your data? 

Recently we explored the difference between radiology turnaround time from a couple of metrics. We were not content with just TAT average for the practice. 

Questions we asked: How does the TAT differ from an average over last 3 months? What is the trend by hours of the workday? Is there any difference in TAT by day of the week? What is the TAT for referring physicians? 

Below is a portion of an article (and a download of the entire article itself) published in Imaging Economics, that gives 4 good points on improving your medical imaging practice.

NEW ORLEANS—A sound business analytics strategy can help meet regulatory requirements, navigate reimbursement changes, and improve business efficiency through enterprise-wide data integration, according to a March 6 presentation at the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) annual conference.

NEW ORLEANS—When considering your patient data, “it doesn’t help to know what happened 30 days ago. It’s too late,” said Mical DeBrow, PhD, RN, Siemens Clinical Strategic Consulting, speaking during a March 5 education session at the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) annual convention.

Earlier today, HIMSS announced the results of the 24th Annual HIMSS Leadership survey, which are visually displayed above. Visit the HIMSS press room to read the full release.

San Diego, Calif based Bern Medical launched their latest business analytics product, Metrics for the Masses. David Fuhriman, Bern's CEO explained: "Radiology has to do more with less- everything counts. The groups and imaging centers that are using their data effectively are and will continue to outperform those that don't. But, less reimbursements means smaller budgets. We've listened to the things practices have said across the country and developed a process to do the impossible."

Metrics for the Masses is a package of 101 data visualizations for clinical or financial data- delivered in an easy to use dashboard. There are no installation charges, no long term contracts, no additional software to purchase, and no limitations on number of users. Metrics for the Masses can integrate data from any system and can be up and running within one week.

David continued "This is an incredible achievement that literally was impossible until recently."

There are only 64 spaces and there are 16 pieces each. How many possible move combinations are there?