The pandemic made one thing very clear: Practices must become more agile to survive inevitable imaging volume fluctuations in the coming months and years. Changing how they manage operational costs and business risks will be critical to success.

When COVID-19 forced medical facilities to delay elective procedures across the country, imaging volume plummeted over 50% for many providers almost overnight. While volume has started to recover, the pandemic is forcing imaging service providers to aggressively rethink their business strategies, a key component of which is radiologist staffing.

Our practice is for sale. And frankly, I’m pretty excited about it. Based on past experiences, the sale of vRad bodes well for the future of our practice, our staff and our clients.

No one anticipated the rapid onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, nor the plunge in imaging demand that followed. The question on everyone’s mind is, “When will we return to ‘normal’?” Despite predictions that a drop of 50% to 70% could last 3-4 months, early indicators show volume returning in many parts of the country already.

Every four minutes someone dies of stroke; it ranks in the top five leading causes of death and disability in the United States. Rapid response can mean the difference between life and death, as well as whether a patient will live with disability due to stroke complications.  

The video below includes images from the actual CT study of a COVID-19 patient in the United States. As this disease spreads rapidly worldwide, chest CTs are emerging as a critical diagnostic tool for this infection. The likelihood is high that more radiologists will be called upon for similar studies. Please share this case with your colleagues.

Two components are essential to successfully establish, develop and sustain applied AI in radiology: Uncompromised collaboration between radiologists and computer scientists, and access to a constant flow of data that is representative of a highly diverse population. This is the foundation of vRad Radiology AI.