Radiologist pipeline barely keeping pace with population growth
The radiologist pipeline is failing to keep pace with population growth in the U.S. and lagging other medical specialties, according to new research.
Between 2010 and 2025, the number of radiology residency positions increased approximately 33%, up to 1,449 as of last year. Meanwhile, the total number of radiology residents also increased by about 23%, up to 5,630 as of 2024, experts write in JACR.
However, the actual total tally of practicing radiologists only rose by about 12% from 2010 to 2022, up to 38,306. This corresponded to a marginal increase in the number of radiologists per 100,000 Americans, rising only from 11.1 to 11.5.
Given growing demand for imaging services and ongoing workforce attrition, experts are raising concern about the adequacy of the radiologist pipeline in addressing these trends.
“The limited growth in practicing radiologists despite increased training positions highlights an ongoing workforce strain,” lead author Ajay Malhotra, MD, with the radiology department at Yale’s School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues concluded. “Expanding residency slots and mitigating workforce attrition will be necessary to mitigate increasing workforce gaps.”
The study utilized data from various sources including the National Resident Matching Program (2007–2025), ACGME (2008–2024), Robert Graham Center GME tables (2000–2023), and the Area Health Resource File (2010–2022). Malhotra and co-authors also noted that the 66% increase in radiology residency positions seen between 2002–2025 was outpaced by the 89% uptick in residency positions seen across all medical specialties.
Given rising volumes and related workload expectations, Malhotra and colleagues expressed concern that burnout in the specialty could worsen, leading to even higher attrition rates. They believe these figures warrant attention as radiology leaders, lawmakers and other stakeholders seek ways to keep the profession adequately staffed.
“These results merit close consideration to ensure an adequate radiology workforce in the future,” the authors noted. “The increase in the radiologist pipeline has barely kept pace with the increase in the U.S. population, with a relatively unchanged proportion of practicing radiologists per unit population, and this does not even consider that the population is aging, which has been associated with an increased per capita use of radiology services. Together, these raise questions about the sustainability of ongoing increases in imaging utilization and shifts towards more complex, advanced imaging modalities.”
Read more, including potential study limitations, in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
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.