ACR forms task force to explore corporatization and consolidation in radiology
The American College of Radiology has formed a new task force aimed and exploring corporatization and consolidation in the specialty.
ACR discussed the new initiative in an article published by its Bulletin member magazine on Aug. 4. The college hosted an open mic session at its annual meeting, held in Washington May 3–7, to discuss consolidation and what its growing specter means for physicians.
Radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine specialists and medical physicists shared their thoughts, with ACR introducing its Task Force on Consolidation in Radiology during the session.
“This group’s work will be brief in duration because misinformation and misunderstanding are complicating existing problems,” Eric M. Rubin, MD, ACR Council Vice Speaker, told the Bulletin. “We have already started examining how consolidation in radiology is impacting ACR members, their practices and the specialty as a whole. The goal is not to explain how or why consolidation is happening, but to find out what it is doing to radiology and how members might better ensure both their personal success and success of their practices,” he added.
ACR’s Board of Chancellors plans to finalize the new task force’s goals and composition by the end of this month, according to the report. They’ll look to report findings from the investigation before the next ACR Annual Meeting, slated for May 2026.
Numerous recent studies have tracked consolidation trends in radiology. A January JACR study found that corporate-backed entities acquired 113 radiology practices and imaging centers over an 11-year period. Between 2015 and 2022, nearly 3,500 physician practices that provide radiology services disappeared from Medicare logs, according to another 2024 analysis in the American Journal of Roentgenology. Radiologists have expressed concern about the ramifications of these trends. Corporatization can reduce rads’ employer choices (particularly in private practice) and change the role of physicians from owner to employee, according to another report published last year.
ACR’s Bulletin article estimates that about 1 in 10 radiologists (or between 8%–13% across different studies) say they work in investor-owned practices. Recent ACR Member Tracker data found that 32% of practices are owned by hospitals, 32% physicians, with the balance labeled as private practice. Rubin and colleagues said they want to better understand the landscape and combat misinformation that may be fueling angst about consolidation.
“We need a common understanding of what is happening out there,” he said. “As it stands now, we don’t have fundamental terms defined that are necessary to make informed plans and decisions.”
“One of the key concerns I’m hearing as I continue my ‘listening tour’ and think ahead to the work of the ACR Task Force on Consolidation is a loss of agency and autonomy—not only personally but with regard to medical decision-making and practice decisions,” added Richard L. Duszak, MD, chair of the ACR Commission on Leadership and Practice Development. “That’s an area where I believe the college can help, particularly with tools for leadership development.”
Read more about the task force in the Bulletin here:
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.