FEATURE · IMAGING
Changes in All Directions: Radiologists Discuss
the Present, Future of Radiology Practice A panel of nationally distinguished radiologists discusses some of the major cross-currents impacting radiological practice—and what lies ahead
By Mark Hagland O
n September 30, the editors at Healthcare Innovation presented Healthcare Imaging Virtual Day, a
day on which radiologist, imaging infor- matics, and radiology business leaders from across the U.S. and Canada gath- ered together virtually to discuss the present and future state of the radiology profession and of imaging informatics. In the final panel discussion of the
day, Healthcare Innovation Editor-in-Chief Mark Hagland gathered together five national leaders among radiologists for a discussion around “The Changing Landscape Around Radiology Practice— the Radiologists’ Perspective.” He was joined by Cheryl Petersilge, M.D., a mus- culoskeletal radiologist and a consultant with her firm, Vidagos (Cleveland); Alex Towbin, M.D., associate chief for clini- cal operations and informatics, and the
Neil D. Johnson Chair in Radiology Informatics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; Eliot Siegel, M.D., professor and vice chair in the Department of Diagnostic Radiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (Baltimore); Gary Wendt, M.D., chair of informatics and professor of radiology, and enterprise director of medical imaging, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and UW Hospitals and Clinics; and Max Rosen, M.D., chair of radiology at the UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Mass. Below is an excerpt from the first half
of the panel discussion. Hagland: What has the impact of
COVID-19 pandemic been on radio- logical practice? Wendt: We did see a fairly significant drop in volume at the initial onset of
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COVID, where we were down to about a third of our normal volume; but that has actually rocketed back up, and we’re now above baseline and are trying to accommodate imaging procedures that had been put off. Towbin: Like Dr. Wendt, we had a
pretty significant drop-off in the March- April timeframe, and have slowly been climbing; and most of our service areas are at 100 percent in pediatric imaging. We’re still slightly lower in volume in terms of emergency imaging; and the question is, was all the emergency imag- ing necessary? For example, ordering a chest x-ray to screen for pneumonia. If you wait a few days, you can usually confirm the pneumonia without imag- ing. Also, in terms of process, we’re slowly moving back into the reading rooms, but they’re less populated, and
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