By ANDY GARDNER

MASSENA -- Hospital CEO Charles Fahd told the Massena Memorial Hospital Board of Managers on Monday night that two cost-saving measures proposed by an audience member at last month’s meeting won’t work. He did not name the individual.

The first proposed measure is ensuring physicians send more patients for medical imaging, such as CT scan and MRI. Fahd pointed to a change between 2010 and 2011 that required a pre-authorization to get the tests.

“We saw a significant reduction in ordering trends between 2010 and 2011,” Fahd said.

He pointed to one physician that is not on staff as a main offender, but didn’t identify the physician. The problem is, since the person isn’t on staff, the hospital has no authority.

“We have no way of going over the doctor on this,” board Chairman Andrew Spanburgh said.

Fahd said the physician is ordering 65 percent fewer CT scans and 52 fewer MRI procedures.

The second proposed cost-saving measure Fahd rejected was to use double dye packs for CT scanning.

“It’s not a safe practice,” he said, adding that they employ one-time dye packs because of sterility concerns.

Fahd said the person who proposed the idea claimed it would save $15,000 to $20,000 annually, but it was an erroneous conclusion.

“The criteria used, the number of kits used was incorrect,” he said, noting that his figures showed a $1,700 annual savings.