How AI, Theranostics and More Empowered Patients Have Led to Significant Changes in Radiology

While radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians historically have not had a great deal of direct interaction with patients, Phillip Koo, MD, says a confluence of events and trends have led to significant changes.

As Dr. Koo pointed out in a recent interview with Diagnostic Imaging, the rise of theranostics has presented nuclear medicine physicians with “a really amazing opportunity to participate in longitudinal care and be that patient-facing physician (who) really adds value to the health-care delivery team.” He also noted that the 21^st Century Cures Act, which has enabled patient access to radiology reports “many times before the referring physicians would read” them, and the increasing utilization of AI has led to a more empowered patient.

“These are all new questions that we need to deal with. But in the end, even though we may not be as face-to-face with the patients, we need to think (and) practice like we are, whether it's virtually and perhaps even physically in the future,” posited Dr. Koo, the executive vice president and chief medical officer for the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

Why the HLTH USA Conference Matters

Dr. Koo will be discussing empowered patients during a session at the upcoming HLTH USA conference, which will be held November 15-18, 2026 in Las Vegas. He emphasized the importance of the meeting in facilitating dialogue between multiple stakeholders on the impact of AI and other technological advances in health care.

“(HLTH USA) is one of those meetings where we really focus on health-care innovation, and they bring together multiple different stakeholders. I think it's important for those important decision makers or policymakers or whoever they might be to understand what the health-care team is thinking — what the providers are thinking, what the physicians are thinking, what the radiologist, nuclear medicine physician, the entire care team on what they're thinking, what are their challenges, what are the opportunities — just to bring a different perspective to a lot of the conversations that will occur at this meeting in Las Vegas,” pointed out Dr. Koo.

The Opportunity for Radiologists and Nuclear Medicine Physicians in Facilitating Precision Medicine

While Dr. Koo called the emergence of theranostics “probably the biggest advancement in our generation when it comes to oncology,” he also expressed enthusiasm with radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians possibly being at the center of facilitating improved precision medicine with predictive models.

“(It’s) understanding the imaging (and) analyzing the imaging to a deeper level so that we can build prognostic, but more importantly, predictive models on how patients will respond,” encouraged Dr. Koo.

(Editor’s note: For related content on the HLTH USA conference, click here.)