Radiology

Our AI models are at work today prioritizing critical cases, improving reporting accuracy and assisting billing compliance. But we’re just getting started. AI will permeate the practice and business of medical imaging to empower radiologists, conquer mountains of administrative burden and strengthen health care delivery.

More than 50,000 radiologists and industry professionals recently gathered at McCormick Place in Chicago for RSNA 2019. Among them was Shannon Werb, President and COO of vRad, a MEDNAX Radiology Solutions company. We caught up with him to get his take on the show.

Beyond theory, vRad is using practical AI to impact patient care today, while paving the way to the future of radiology.

I was proud to deliver a check for $77,719 to RAD-AID on behalf of my generous vRad and MEDNAX colleagues at the 2019 RAD-AID Conference in Washington, DC. In just our second year, First Read Initiative added nicely to our inaugural-year gift of just over $72,000.

Radiologists are savoring new selections on their CME plan menu: Succinct, quarter-credit case reviews, available free from MEDNAX Radiology Education. Since April 2019, we’ve been making weekly additions to our library of 15-minute Radiology Case Reviews, and radiologists are eating them up.

Burnout has become commonplace among medical professionals, especially radiologists. While increasing caseloads are part of the picture, much of the stress physicians are experiencing comes from areas that distract them from patient care – shifting regulatory requirements, confounding processes and systems that complicate medical practice, hospital politics, or challenges to balancing work life with home life.

Early hype implied that artificial intelligence would replace radiologists. Turns out the opposite is closer to the truth. Without radiologists there is zero potential for the future of AI in diagnostic imaging. Radiologists are integral to model development, testing and validation.

While workflows change to balance growing demand for imaging studies with decreasing capacity, it is essential that patient care is not compromised. Radiology practices must be prepared to invest and adapt for the long term to ensure critical performance metrics remain solid in this volatile environment.

The demand for imaging studies is expected to continue to increase for the foreseeable future. However, the number of radiologists on hand to perform those studies will remain relatively flat, and potentially decline. This is creating a market-wide capacity imbalance that is straining performance across radiology.