As a macroeconomic phenomenon, commoditization is fairly characteristic of a maturing marketplace—two words that describe radiology in the United States perfectly. As the industry has matured, through increased competition and more deleterious economic pressures, radiology practices have increasingly found themselves competing on price alone,

If one were to chart trends in physician employment over the past 15 years, the result would closely resemble the recent wild swings seen in the stock market: significant peaks followed abruptly by equally sharp declines, according to Kevin McDonough, CFA, a senior manager for VMG Health (Dallas, Texas).

As part of a growing trend toward giving increasingly savvy patients greater control over their health care, radiologists are taking a more active role in patient-centered care, tailoring their practices to meet consumer needs. Putting the patient first might seem obvious or intuitive, but the idea has not always been at the forefront of the

Paul Chang, MD, professor and vice chair of radiology informatics and medical director of enterprise imaging for the University of Chicago, believes radiology practices must evolve to survive—and that the path forward is to become more collaborative with clinical partners, survive on fewer reimbursement dollars, improve workflow, and enhance

Welcome to the fifth annual radiology-group survey results. A different approach in gathering information was used this year. In the past, the survey was 100% based on submissions provided by the groups themselves. This year, the Radiology Business Journal staff researched the practice market and sought out large groups, asking them to submit information. Some entries were based on information taken from the groups’ websites. The results look complete and do represent the largest 100 radiology groups owned by radiologists in the country.

When Daniel Schultz, DO, accepted a position with Radisphere (Cleveland, Ohio, and Westport, Connecticut) five years ago, he was particularly excited about the prospect of a combined on-site and off-site radiology practice. “I saw it as a way to practice my specialty, but also to rely on my colleagues to cover their areas of expertise,” he says.

In the wake of the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, multiple aid groups rushed to the country to provide housing and medical care for the estimated 1.5 to 1.8 million residents displaced by the natural disaster. One such group was Health4Haiti, which had established a presence in the country several years before and had been building a clinic in

When referring physicians in Southington, Connecticut, grew weary of sending patients out of town to the nearest open MRI unit, they asked the board of directors at the Bradley Memorial campus of the Hospital of Central Connecticut to recommend a new open MRI system for the hospital’s MRI center. As director of imaging services, Michael Perrone was