Radiologists Respond to CEO Claim of AI Replacing Radiologists

While the comment wasn’t something that radiologists haven’t heard before, it nevertheless generated quite a bit of buzz in the radiology community.

In a recent panel discussion, Mitchell Katz, MD, the CEO of NYC Health and Hospitals said, “We could replace a great deal of radiologists with AI at this moment if we are ready to do the regulatory challenge.”1

In recent interviews with Diagnostic Imaging, Andrew Del Gaizo, MD, Nicholas Galante, MD and Marc Succi, MD, shared their thoughts about the comment from Dr. Katz.

While Dr. Galante said overstated reports of the demise of radiologists due to AI are nothing new, he emphasized that AI will increase efficiencies, possibly expand the role of radiologists and possibly facilitate a better work-life balance.

“We'll have more time to spend on the harder cases that require more attention. We'll have more time to talk to referring clinicians or patients. We might have more time to actually have a little bit more of a balanced lifestyle, which is what radiology allegedly used to be. I've never experienced it, but I've heard the stories,” noted Dr. Galante, the medical director for informatics at Radiology Associates of North Texas.

Dr. Del Gaizo cautioned that while it’s easy to get caught up in the hype of AI, it’s important to understand “where the technology really is” in terms of capabilities in radiology as well as potential issues with regulatory and medicolegal components with AI. However, Dr. Del Gaizo does see a changing role for radiologists with continued integration of AI.

“I think radiologists adapt. I think there's actually new opportunities in what we do. Rather than replacing a radiologist, there's going to be a different role for radiologists moving forward,” posited Dr. Del Gaizo, a body radiologist and chief medical information officer for Rad AI.

Dr. Succi, who recently co-authored a study demonstrating the challenges of large language models with respect to clinical reasoning in differential diagnosis, emphasized the importance of human oversight with AI.

“AI is going to make us more efficient, but it has critical errors. … We know that an airplane can take off and land and fly essentially autonomously. We've known that for decades, but you have not one, but two pilots. If I'm going for a flight, even if it's a short one, and I have the option to choose between an AI plane and a plane with two pilots and AI, I'm still choosing, even if I know the data, I'm still having that human backup,” maintained Dr. Succi, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and executive director of the MESH (Medically Engineered Solutions in Healthcare) Incubator at Mass General Brigham.

(Editor’s note: For related content, see “Large Language Models and Clinical Reasoning: What New Research Reveals,” “Breast Imaging in Focus: Can Partially Autonomous AI-Supported Screening Have an Impact with Mammography and DBT?” and “Future Role of the Radiologist: Clinical Strategist and Governor of AI.”)

Reference

1. Jeffries E. NYC Health + Hospitals CEO: AI could replace many radiologists. Becker’s Hospital Review. Available at: https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/radiology/nyc-health-hospitals-ceo-ai-could-replace-many-radiologists/ . Published April 3, 2026. Accessed April 15, 2026.