Masters of Radiology Panel Discussion: The Future of the Radiology Job Market

Abstract

127 Part of the question when you look at a microscopic trend is, “Does this extrapolate out to a long-term problem or not?” Personally, I am optimistic about radiology. I’m very bullish. The challenge that we’re facing is our inability to fundamentally and eloquently verbalize the added value we bring to every single interaction and transaction. We have to be more specific in terms of demonstrating how beneficial we are to health care delivery systems; to referring physicians; and, most importantly, to our society’s health. If we can truly demonstrate the throughput value of radiology and speak the language of value, then the sky is the limit for our growth and we will flourish. This is particularly true in an accountable-care organization (ACO)like capitated and bundled world where radiology is all about sunken costs and wholepatient throughput and less about rationing individual departmental transactions. In such a world, we may ultimately be facing a time of high-throughput radiology where radiology is depended on [in the medical field] and production management with novel developments, such as high-throughput computer-aided diagnosis (CAD), will advance to the point where we become reconciliators of unusual and abnormal findings. Similarly with therapeutic radiology, there will have to be high-quality delivery and an understanding of how radiology adds value. As you look at interventional radiology universally, it has to be more of a patient-centered engagement rather than a technologically proficient service. My sense is that as radiology evolves to meet the technical demands of the future, there will be a dramatic need for many more radiologists, but it can’t be business as usual. We’re going to have to change the way we engage payers and patients. We have to be much more descriptive in terms of the value we bring to every single diagnostic and therapeutic transaction. Masters of Radiology Panel Discussion: The Future of the Radiology Job Market