RAD-AID brings radiology expertise to underserved communities at home and abroad
Radiologists can play a critical role in addressing healthcare disparities in low-resource communities, not only by providing imaging expertise, but by helping build sustainable systems that improve access to diagnosis and follow-up care, according to RAD-AID volunteer Arlene Richardson, MD. She spoke on the topic during a session on international outreach and health equity at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 2025 meeting. She explained details to Radiology Business in the above video interview.
Richardson, an MSK radiologist with Radiology Partners and program director for RAD-AID Tanzania, discussed the parallels between resource-constrained communities in the United States and low- and middle-income countries. She said many of the challenges are remarkably similar, including delayed diagnoses, fragmented healthcare systems, poor follow-up pathways and limited access to subspecialty expertise.
“Access is really the issue,” Richardson said, noting that these gaps can contribute to disparities in morbidity and mortality.
Richardson's interest in serving underserved populations began in Chicago. After completing fellowship, she joined a low-resource community hospital on the city's South Side, where she encountered significant gaps in radiology services. In 2013, the hospital was still using screen-film mammography and did not have an MRI scanner or a regular radiologist.
Her role there evolved beyond interpreting studies. She worked to improve imaging quality, build relationships within the hospital and lead efforts to strengthen radiology services, eventually serving as department chair and president of the medical staff.
In 2017, Richardson learned about RAD-AID, an organization focused on improving access to medical imaging in underserved communities worldwide. She volunteered for eight weeks in Tanzania, an experience that eventually led to leadership roles in the RAD-AID Tanzania program. She became program director in 2020.
The program now supports a broad range of radiology needs, including resident and technologist education, nursing, information technology, safety and quality initiatives. A major focus has been developing sustainable educational programs rather than simply providing short-term assistance.
Since 2020, Richardson has helped support a virtual radiology resident lecture series, allowing subspecialty expertise to reach trainees without requiring educators to travel internationally. The program also uses remote case-based teaching. Depending on technology and schedules, Richardson and other radiologists can log into a cloud-based PACS, review cases remotely or discuss imaging studies with trainees in real time. Cases can then be incorporated into conferences for broader resident education.
The goal is to strengthen local expertise so that trainees remain at their institutions and eventually educate the next generation of radiologists.
Richardson emphasized that RAD-AID does not take a one-size-fits-all approach. Before providing support, teams conduct a radiology readiness assessment to determine what equipment, personnel, training and infrastructure a site actually has and what gaps need to be addressed. She said that approach is equally applicable in the United States, where rural and low-income communities can face substantial barriers to imaging.
RAD-AID's U.S. initiatives also have included efforts to improve breast imaging access. Richardson's own Chicago hospital transitioned from screen-film mammography to 3D mammography through a RAD-AID initiative, accompanied by training for technologists and radiologists and the addition of a patient navigator.
Mobile imaging programs can also help reach patients who have difficulty traveling to imaging centers, she said, provided that image quality, interpretation and follow-up are incorporated into the overall system.
Ultimately, Richardson said, improving radiology access requires looking beyond the individual imaging examination.
“It goes beyond just the turnaround time on one individual report,” she said. “What happened after that? Where did they go?”
For Richardson, that broader view of the healthcare ecosystem is central to closing imaging disparities—whether the patient is in Tanzania, rural America or an underserved neighborhood in Chicago.
Dave Fornell has covered healthcare for more than 17 years, with a focus in cardiology and radiology. Fornell is a 5-time winner of a Jesse H. Neal Award, the most prestigious editorial honors in the field of specialized journalism. The wins included best technical content, best use of social media and best COVID-19 coverage. Fornell was also a three-time Neal finalist for best range of work by a single author. He produces more than 100 editorial videos each year, most of them interviews with key opinion leaders in medicine. He also writes technical articles, covers key trends, conducts video hospital site visits, and is very involved with social media. E-mail: [email protected]