Almost one-third of the U.S. population does not have access to an interventional radiologist in their county, according to a new analysis published Oct. 28.
A total of 2,989 board-certified IR specialists operate across 15.5% of all counties (or 487 such geographies), researchers detailed in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology [1]. Factors such as spending power and education appear to drive disbursement of IR services. The average median income in counties with access to an interventional radiologist is nearly $68,000 versus $54,000 in those without. And about 31% of the population has a college degree in IR-rich areas compared to 20% in places without an IR.
Experts see great opportunity in these data to address disparities and expand the volume of patients treated by the specialty.
“Interventional radiology finds itself in a unique position,” Yusuf Ahmad, a student at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Pennsylvania, and co-authors advised. “These findings emphasize the need for a conversation surrounding interventional radiology care in rural settings and further exploration of specific socioeconomic variables pertaining to patients who have received interventional radiology care and how to better distribute that care to all,” they added later.
Ahmad and co-authors gathered their information from the Society of Interventional Radiology’s public database, pinpointing board-certified IRs across all U.S. cities. They also used Census data to acquire information about poverty, population, unemployment, median household income, education and racial diversity.
The average interventionalist-to-population ratio was about 0.305 per 100,000 individuals, researchers calculated. Meanwhile, higher average percentages of Black Americans (13%), Pacific Islanders (0.2%) and Hispanics (14%) were observed in counties with IRs, with the specialty more concentrated in diverse, urban areas. Ahmad and colleagues’ findings follow a similar pattern that is present in other specialties, such as urology and dermatology.
Experts cautioned that the study is limited by its small sample of interventional radiologists and reliance on information from the SIR. Contributing to the society’s database is voluntary, and it does not capture all practicing IRs in the U.S. Still, the authors believe their analysis provides useful information for future planning within the specialty.
“Understanding and improving on these limitations can help spread the importance and effectiveness of interventional radiology as a means of treatment among the general population while increasing the population available for interventional radiologists,” the study concluded. “As a minimally invasive, clinical, and surgical specialty with the opportunity for outpatient work, interventional radiology can be the model for bringing specialized fields of medicine to marginalized groups.”
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.