Radiology practice SimonMed Imaging touts launch of 2 new AI services with out-of-pocket charges
Scottsdale, Arizona-based radiology practice SimonMed Imaging is touting the launch of two new services that charge women to have artificial intelligence look over their screening mammograms.
SimonMed on Monday announced the rollout of its Mammogram+ scan, which costs an extra $50. The service utilizes two “advanced AI” algorithms to spot cancer earlier. This charge includes a personalized breast density report and risk assessment, along with an “actionable follow-up plan.”
Meanwhile, a higher-tier service, Mammogram+ Heart, costs $90 and incorporates “AI-based assessment of breast arterial calcification.” This “emerging clinical marker” has been linked to cardiovascular disease, SimonMed noted, with its new service allowing women to screen for both cancer and cardiac concerns in one visit.
“At SimonMed Imaging, we’re focused on empowering women with the latest technology to take charge of their health,” CEO and Founder John Simon, MD, said in a July 7 announcement. “Mammogram+ and Mammogram+ Heart combine advanced AI to detect breast cancer earlier and identify early signs of heart disease—offering valuable insight into both breast and heart health through a single exam.”
Mammogram+ replaces SimonMed’s PBCD (Personalized Breast Cancer Detection) program, which launched in January and charged $40. The two AI options are available at SimonMed locations nationwide that offer mammography. No referral is needed for patients to include either service as part of their regular screening, the company emphasized.
The new offerings come after SimonMed previously touted a partnership with breast imaging AI vendor Lunit/Volpara in April. The practice follows in the footsteps of other radiology providers such as RadNet Inc., which launched its own mammography AI enhancement a few years ago. Enhanced Breast Cancer Detection, or EBCD, charges women $40 out of pocket to have AI assess their breast images (down from the original fee of $60). Los Angeles-based RadNet delivered about 1.6 million mammograms in 2023, with leaders estimating its AI segment could generate upward of $18 million, much of it from EBCD. Solis Mammography also offers a “Mammo+Heart” service that assesses breast arterial calcification via mammograms.
Founded in 2003, SimonMed deploys about 200 radiologists, billing itself as “one of the largest outpatient medical imaging providers and largest physician radiology practices in the United States.” The group inked a $600 million partnership with New York private equity firm American Securities in 2021 and has grown steadily since then, now operating 170 sites across 11 states. SimonMed also offers an elective, whole-body MRI service called SimonOne, similar to the one delivered by startups Prenuvo and Ezra (the latter of which was recently acquired by Function Health).
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.