Radiology provider Akumin signs $2.15M contract with Volpara—vendor’s largest deal to date

Radiology provider Akumin has signed a $2.15 million deal with Volpara Health, the imaging vendor’s largest such contract to date, the two announced recently.

Under the five-year pact, Volpara will install its Patient Hub software across Akumin’s network of outpatient imaging centers spanning 11 states. They plan to replace multiple legacy patient-tracking systems, collecting $430,000 through annual upfront payments.

Wellington, New Zealand-based Volpara said it expects the installation to occur within the next 3-6 months, and Akumin has the right to terminate the contract after 3.5 years. The software also incorporates its Volpara Risk and Scorecard, used for assessing breast density and triaging patients to appropriate care.

In an Oct. 5 announcement, CEO Ralph Highnam, PhD, said the company does not typically announce individual deals. However, this marks its “highest-value contract signed to date,” with the firm first founded in 2009 on research conducted at Oxford University.

Publicly traded Akumin is based in Plantation, Florida, and operates 170-plus imaging centers, employing 175 board-certified radiologists, according to its website. The provider group also recently closed a deal to purchase Alliance Healthcare Services for $820 million.

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. 

Around the web

The nuclear imaging isotope shortage of molybdenum-99 may be over now that the sidelined reactor is restarting. ASNC's president says PET and new SPECT technologies helped cardiac imaging labs better weather the storm.

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.

The all-in-one Omni Legend PET/CT scanner is now being manufactured in a new production facility in Waukesha, Wisconsin.