|
More Rads Working for PE | Canada Mammo Twist
March 10, 2025
|
|
|
|
|
Together with
|
|
|
|
|
The share of U.S. radiologists working for practices owned by private equity has skyrocketed over the past decade, from 1% in 2013 to 12% in 2023. That’s according to a new study in AJR that documents the growing trend of PE ownership in medical imaging.
As we reported recently, the growing number of private equity acquisitions in healthcare has raised questions about PE’s impact on patient care.
- In radiology, some industry observers worry that PE acquisitions are changing the specialty in fundamental ways, turning radiologists from owner-stakeholders into corporate employees.
The new study analyzed PE acquisitions from 2013 to 2023, with a specific focus on geographic variations.
- Researchers found 151 PE acquisitions of radiology practices in the U.S. over the 11-year study period, through December 2023.
Key findings were broken down as follows…
- The share of radiologists working for PE practices boomed (12% from 1%).
- PE-acquired practices were associated with 16% of all U.S. radiology locations.
- The states with the highest shares of PE-employed radiologists were Nevada (47%), Arizona (44%), Alaska (29%), Texas (27%), and Florida (24%).
- Companies accounting for the largest number of PE-employed radiologists were Radiology Partners (70%), LucidHealth (8%), and U.S. Radiology Specialists (7%).
The new findings echo previous research showing PE’s geographic penetration to be greatest in the West and Southeast.
- They also underline the extent to which Radiology Partners dominates PE acquisitions as it brings independent imaging practices under its umbrella.
The Takeaway
The new study – along with other recent research – demonstrates the extent to which private equity acquisitions are changing the face of radiology. Researchers should take the next step and investigate PE’s impact on radiologists’ career satisfaction, and by extension, patient care.
|
|
|
Time to Address Radiologist Burnout and Inefficient Workflows
Mach7’s new UnityVue radiology solution is a comprehensive reading platform combining enterprise imaging, workflow orchestration, AI-driven decision support, and the tools your team needs to thrive. See for yourself on March 26 in a live product demonstration by the Mach7 team.
|
|
The Benefits of Operational AI
Explore the transformative potential of operational AI in healthcare in this on-demand webinar hosted by Blackford. Learn from the company’s partners how AI can help your practice operate more efficiently.
|
|
Revolutionizing 3D Imaging
Learn how Visage Imaging is revolutionizing 3D imaging for radiology with its Visage Ease VP solution for the Apple Vision Pro headset in this video with Steve Deaton, director of customer experience.
|
|
- Canada Pauses Guideline Group: In the latest twist over mammography guidelines in Canada, the federal government last week ordered a temporary pause of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care. The task force was expected to finalize new national guidelines for breast screening that kept the country’s starting age at 50, even as Canadian provinces and the U.S. have lowered the age to 40. But the pause halts any change until an external government review of the task force’s work can be completed by the end of March.
- Langlotz Joins Sirona Board: Radiology AI thought leader Curtis Langlotz, MD, PhD, has joined the board of Sirona Medical. Langlotz is immediate past president of RSNA and is founder and director of Stanford University’s Center for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Imaging. Langlotz joins Sirona as the company has added 15 new practices to its Unify platform in the last 12 months and has doubled usage on a quarter-by-quarter basis for the past five quarters.
- New Radiology Residency Ramps Up: The newest diagnostic radiology residency program in the U.S. has been accredited by ACGME and is ready to start accepting residents. Lehigh Valley Health Network is actively recruiting PGY-2 residents who have successfully completed PGY-1 internships for its inaugural class to start in July 2025. The program launch is significant because the number of radiology residencies is tightly controlled, but more radiologists must be trained to avoid future workforce shortages.
- RamSoft Connects with CARPL: RamSoft capped a busy week of partnerships at HIMSS 2025 by signing a new relationship with AI platform company CARPL.ai. CARPL has integrated its AI marketplace with over 150 algorithms into RamSoft’s PowerServer and OmegaAI RIS/PACS platforms, enabling RamSoft customers to deploy AI from within the PACS environment. RamSoft last week also announced relationships with NewVue.ai and iCAD.
- Predicting Contrast Kidney Injury: Predicting which patients will experience contrast-induced acute kidney injury is tricky business, and hasn’t gotten much more accurate over the years. A meta-analysis in JAMA Network Open calculated the pooled accuracy of risk prediction models from 45 studies and compared it to a review of eight studies from 2015, finding little change in sensitivity (0.74 vs. 0.71) and specificity (0.78 vs. 80). Authors concluded there has been “no meaningful improvement” in the performance of risk prediction models.
- Imaging AI Tops NVIDIA Survey: Respondents to a new survey on AI from GPU giant NVIDIA found that 71% said medical imaging was their top use case for healthcare AI. The survey polled the opinions of 600 professionals in the healthcare and life sciences industries, with 83% agreeing that AI would “revolutionize” both fields in the next 3-5 years. In all, 73% said AI would reduce operational costs, 58% said data analytics was a top AI use case, and 78% said they would increase their budget for AI infrastructure.
- AI Boosts SPECT Myocardial Perfusion: Researchers applied a deep learning algorithm to conventional quantitative SPECT myocardial perfusion data, finding that the combination boosted diagnostic accuracy for detecting obstructive CAD. In a paper in JNM, researchers applied the algorithm to data from 555 patients undergoing stress SPECT-MPI to produce total perfusion deficit-deep learning scores, which had higher AUC than AI prediction alone or traditional stress total perfusion deficit (0.84 vs. 0.80 and 0.74). Integrating AI with traditional quantitative data gives clinicians familiar measures with better accuracy.
- AI Echo Automates Thoracic Measurements: Researchers used Us2.ai’s AI echo algorithm to automate thoracic measurements acquired to detect signs of aortic dilation in patients with aortic stenosis. In a study in Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography, they used Us2.ai’s solution in 306 adults undergoing TTE scans, finding that AI-generated measurements had good agreement with expert cardiologists for various parameters including left ventricular outflow tract, sinuses of Valsalva, sinotubular junction, and proximal ascending aorta.
- Lunit Expands Saudi Arabia Partnership: Lunit has expanded its relationship with a large medical group in Saudi Arabia to include chest X-ray AI. Lunit since 2023 has supplied its Insight MMG mammography AI algorithm to Cloud Solutions, a subsidiary of Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group, and under the expansion will add Insight CXR to the partnership. The group is expected to use the algorithm to analyze 1M chest X-rays over the next three years.
- Rad Partners Fires Back at Aetna: Radiology Partners has fired back in its clash with Aetna over radiology billing under the federal No Surprises Act’s dispute resolution mechanism. Aetna filed suit in December 2024 charging RP with manipulating claims so they would be paid at higher out-of-network levels, but RP filed motions to dismiss the lawsuits and accused Aetna of using litigation to “avoid its existing payment obligations” and attempting “to influence public perception.”
- Konica Minolta Adds ImagineSoftware Billing: Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas partnered with ImagineSoftware to add its ImagineOne AI-driven billing solution to Konica Minolta’s Exa PACS/RIS software. The agreement extends an existing collaboration and will give Exa PACS and Exa RIS customers a more streamlined and automated solution for revenue cycle management.
- Google Introduces AI Co-Scientist: Google introduced its new AI co-scientist, a multi-agent generative AI system that can help scientists generate novel hypotheses and research proposals. AI co-scientist is designed to “mirror the reasoning process underpinning the scientific method” and is purpose-built for collaboration. It not only performs standard literature review and summarization, but can reportedly formulate demonstrably novel hypotheses by building upon prior evidence and tailoring it to specific research objectives.
- Philips Picks AWS as Cloud Partner: Philips selected Amazon Web Services as its provider for cloud-based image management, continuing a string of radiology wins for AWS. Philips has adopted a cloud-first strategy and is migrating its healthcare data, applications, and services out of on-premises data centers and expanding its healthcare offerings globally.
|
|
Eliminate Patient Guesswork in Medical Imaging
Traditional reports can leave patients struggling to interpret their results. PocketHealth’s Image Reader adds anatomical visualizations to imaging records, helping patients better understand and engage with their health. Learn more about Image Reader here.
|
|
The Invisible Edge of Data Migration
AI-enabled data migration has several advantages for healthcare organizations, from efficiency that’s 5-10X faster than traditional methods to success rates as high as 99%. Learn more on this page from Enlitic.
|
|
Tools for Lung Cancer Screening in Europe
As lung cancer screening programs gear up to launch across various European countries, the integration of AI nodule detection tools promises to enhance the accuracy of low-dose CT scans. Watch this video from Riverain Technologies to learn more.
|
|
- Perspectives on Cybersecurity in Medical Imaging: Healthcare organizations are a prime target for cyberattacks, so how can you proactively defend yourself against these threats? Learn how to protect your operations – and your patients – in this March 27 webinar from Merge by Merative.
- Unprecedented Insights Made Possible with AI: With the largest normative dataset of whole-body imaging in the world, Prenuvo’s AI researchers partner with the best academic minds to understand – like never before – what “normal” aging means. Learn about their work today.
- Ranked #1 Best in KLAS for 3 Consecutive Years: Named Best in KLAS 2025, Microsoft’s PowerShare earns praise from clinicians and other imaging stakeholders for seamless medical image exchange. Hear how it’s benefiting customers and patients.
- Synoptic Reporting of Liver Masses: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound exams for focal liver lesions can be challenging to report in at-risk patients. Learn how Kailo Medical’s synoptic reporting solutions can make reporting easier while improving LI-RADS categorization.
- AI-Empowered CT Workflow: CT systems from United Imaging are designed for high image quality and low dose, and their AI-empowered workflow enables fast and reproducible positioning, helping you image patients with confidence. Learn more on this page.
- What Is Cloud Computing? What do you know about cloud computing and its role in healthcare? Check out this article by Sham Sokka, PhD, of DeepHealth to learn how cloud computing is helping hospitals adopt new AI technologies that enhance patient care.
- Give Patients a Clear Path to Accessing Medical Data: Clearpath is a simple integration that empowers digital delivery of medical records and images. Request a demo today to find out how you can ditch the disc and give your patients and third parties instant access to digital data.
- Enterprise Imaging in the Cloud: What are the benefits of cloud-based enterprise image management? Check out this Imaging Wire Show interview with Tracy Byers, CEO of enterprise imaging at Optum, on the importance of the cloud in radiology.
- An End-to-End Solution for Viewing AI Output: Check out CARPL.ai’s FDA-cleared Universal AI View, an end-to-end solution for viewing, editing, and annotating AI outputs. It can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud to give you seamless interoperability. Book a meeting today to learn more.
- Patient Attitudes Towards AI-Echo: The medical imaging field is rapidly accepting AI, but how are patients feeling about the shift? Get the scoop on patients’ positive opinions toward Us2.ai’s software that supports task-shifting from conventional echo to AI-echo.
- Fast and Reliable Head CT Imaging: Whether portable in the ICU or mobile in the ambulance as a mobile stroke unit, SOMATOM On.site from Siemens Healthineers brings critical care imaging to your patients. With the first-of-its-kind telescopic gantry design, integrated positioning accessories, and proven SOMATOM technologies, you can achieve fast and reliable CT head imaging.
- A Triple-Award KLAS Win: AGFA HealthCare is celebrating a remarkable triple win in the Best in KLAS awards, achieving two #1 awards for their XERO viewer and VNA alongside the KLAS Most Improved Software Product for 2025. Learn more about their solutions today.
- Radiology Practice Models Explained: Radiologist Kurt Schoppe, MD, isn’t afraid to speak his mind, so listen to this episode of Medality’s Radiology Report Podcast to hear his take on healthcare policy and economics.
- MRI Access and the Cost of Inpatient Stays: Longer inpatient stays due to delayed MRI access are a long-standing and costly issue for hospital systems. Find out how STAGE from SpinTech MRI can reduce your MRI backlog and inpatient stays by shortening brain scan times by 30%.
- Mastering Radiology Leadership: Join Intelerad for this RadEqual webinar on March 11 featuring a deep dive into the critical administrative and management aspects of leadership, with Geraldine McGinty, MD, and Amy Kotsenas discussing strategies for empowering diverse leaders.
- Automated MSK Measurements: BoneMetrics from Gleamer is an automated AI solution that can help diagnose scoliosis by automating Cobb angle calculations on images acquired with X-ray and EOS systems. Learn more about how it works today.
- MRI That’s Lighter, Faster, and Sharper: Rise above and experience MRI excellence with Philips BlueSeal, the industry’s lightest, vent pipe-free, high-performance, helium-free 1.5T scanner. Watch this video to see how it can benefit your practice.
- AI for Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Screening: Check out this comprehensive new eBook from Calantic by Bayer on the role of AI in lung cancer diagnosis and screening. It explores AI’s potential role in improving lung cancer screening strategies, identifying high-risk individuals, and enhancing diagnostic accuracy. Download it today.
|
|
|
|
|
