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Can Short-Term Measures Provide Some Relief with the Radiologist Shortage?
In an attempt to navigate the imbalance between rising imaging volume and a shortage of radiologists, researchers proposed a variety of measures that may provide additional resources, bolster productivity, and help mitigate burnout.
The divide between increasing imaging volume and less radiologists to interpret computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), mammography and ultrasound studies appears to be getting worse.
In a new article, recently published in the American Journal of Roentgenology, researchers noted a rapid escalation of imaging volumes from emergency departments, 46 percent of private practice radiologists suffering from burnout, two-thirds of radiologists working full-time prior to retirement, and over 1,700 open positions for radiologists listed on the American College of Radiology’s Career Center.
In an attempt to address some of the daunting trends in the radiology workforce, the article authors discussed a number of proposals to provide some measures of short-term relief. Here are a few key takeaways.
Pointing out that nearly a third of practicing radiologists are over 55 years of age, the article authors maintained that job-sharing, phased retirements, and part-time models for senior radiologists merit consideration. (Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.)
1. Can retired radiologists have an impact? Based off an estimate of one percent of physicians retiring each year, the researchers suggested that if 270 retired radiologists worked one day a week, this could equate to 2,808 weeks of radiologist coverage or the addition of 70 radiologists a year.
Pointing out that nearly a third of practicing radiologists are over 55 years of age, the article authors maintained that job-sharing, phased retirements, and part-time models for senior radiologists merit consideration.
2. Would part-time radiologists consider working one more day a month? Citing data from the American College of Radiology (ACR), the researchers noted that 4,352 radiologists or 16 percent of radiologists in the United States work on a part-time basis. While acknowledging that increasing part-time days may not be feasible for all part-time radiologists, the article authors suggested that adding one day to part-time schedules could add up to 10,444 work weeks of radiologist coverage or 40 weeks of coverage annually from 261 radiologists.
“If only a third of part-time radiologists worked an additional day per month, then this would result in the equivalent of 87 additional radiologists annually,” posited lead article author James V. Rawson, M.D., the radiology vice chair of operations and special projects at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and colleagues.
3. Could fellowship trainees help offset weekend call responsibilities? Pointing out that the majority of radiology residents complete fellowships, the researchers suggest this could create a pool of 1,000 part-time radiologists. While acknowledging that some training programs prohibit moonlighting by fellows, the article authors said two weekends of call coverage during a fellowship year could translate into 2,000 weekends of additional radiology coverage.
4. Can reading room assistants provide some relief from time-consuming administrative tasks? Noting the possibilities with on-site staff, remote assistants or secure software solutions, the researchers said paring away some of the administrative burdens and follow-up with referring physicians may enable radiologists to spend more time on image interpretation.
“If tasks such as providing phone coverage, calling ordering providers for non-critical actionable findings, and answering basic scheduling or protocolling questions are removed from radiologists’ responsibilities, then radiologist productivity may be positively impacted,” maintained Rawson and colleagues.
5. Could true delegation of final reports from evening and overnight work to teleradiology services rein in duplicate reporting? Citing the evolution of the teleradiology service provider Virtual Radiologic (vRad) from providing 20 percent of final reads to customers in 2006 to 90 percent of final reads to customers in 2023, the researchers emphasized that having daytime radiologists reassess evening and overnight work from teleradiologists should be a thing of the past.
“While there is variable penetration of final reads by teleradiology companies in different markets, there may be opportunity to reduce this duplicate work in some local markets,” added Rawson and colleagues.
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