Private practice groups form first radiology consortium

A consortium that will include more than 750 radiologists from 13 practice groups announced it was beginning operations this week. The consortium will focus on the business side of radiology, determining things like common billing platforms across the groups.

Strategic Radiology will look at issues such as how to handle overnight radiology and quality assurance. The consortium will also negotiate for a common medical liability carrier to find ways to collectively save money, according to Dr. Arl Van Moore, chairman of Strategic Radiology and president of Charlotte Radiology.

Strategic Radiology counts among its members Advanced Radiology Services in Grand Rapids, MI, Charlotte Radiology in Charlotte, NC, Diversified Radiology in Denver, CO, and Inland Imaging in Spokane, WA.

“We saw there was a vacuum in the radiology world,” Van Moore said. “The question became how do we get together and work more closely to raise the water level for us all?”

Working together will allow the group to gain efficiencies and cost savings on things like malpractice premiums, said Tom Greeson, a healthcare attorney with the firm of Reed Smith.

The consortium will also look at common billing platforms to see if there is one all 13 groups can share to reduce costs, Van Moore said. Things Strategic Radiology will not do include negotiate collectively with insurance companies or share workloads. Strategic Radiology will continue to expand over time, he said.

“We’ll probably see slow growth (for a while) because we’re just getting off the ground,” he said. “I’m sure we will add additional practices with time. It’s more of a question of ‘when,’ not ‘if.’”