Decades-old radiology practices merge in Denver area

Two imaging practices with a combined track record of 100-plus years are merging in the Denver area after several months of negotiations.

Radiology Imaging Associates in Englewood, Colorado, revealed Monday that its absorbing Denver-based competitor Rocky Mountain Radiologists and its two-dozen team members. In an announcement, leaders overseeing the integration said they’re “thrilled” to expand RIA’s imaging coverage to the SCL Health’s Lutheran Medical Center in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, along with several other clinics in the area.

"Our combined team is working together at all levels to identify efficiencies and improvements to clinical quality and service delivery that will continue to be the hallmark of the practice," Brian Ravert, MD, former president of Rocky Mountain Radiologists and current board member at RIA, said in a statement. Their goal is to remain “independent and physician-governed” following the merger, he added.

Rocky Mountain brings along 16 subspecialist physicians, with expertise ranging from breast to musculoskeletal imaging and neuroradiology. Two interventional radiologists are also joining the team at Radiology Imaging Associates, ballooning its radiologist roster to 117.

RIA was first founded in the 1960s and has partnerships with primary care physicians and hospitals across Colorado, and in Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Hawaii, according to the announcement. Rocky Mountain Radiologists, meanwhile, traces its history back 50 years, beginning as a community-based practice at Lutheran. Today, it provides service for much of Northwest Colorado, including the Yampa Valley Medical Center in Steamboat Springs and the Memorial Hospital in Craig, according to its website.

Marty Stempniak

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. 

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