Radiology staffing shortages force health system to temporarily shutter imaging centers
Radiology staffing shortages have forced an Illinois health system to temporarily shutter its imaging centers.
Anderson Healthcare—in Maryville, 17 miles northeast of St. Louis, Missouri—announced the decision in a news update shared Wednesday. The closure is occurring from Aug. 6–13 and effects outpatient centers in the communities of Maryville and Edwardsville, along with the Anderson Hospital Imaging Center, and Community Hospital of Staunton (Ill.).
“Like many healthcare systems across the country, Anderson Healthcare is being impacted by a national shortage of radiologists and radiology technologists,” the hospital said in an announcement. “This ongoing workforce challenge has created widespread delays in radiology report turnaround times.”
Anderson Healthcare said the closure will only impact nonurgent outpatient imaging. The two-hospital system—which includes a medical group, rehab institute, surgery center and cancer clinic—will continue delivering inpatient and emergency scans, “as well as any cases our physicians determine to be urgent.” Outpatient diagnostic mammography will remain open and operate as usual, and the hospital is keeping staff on hand at imaging centers to aid patients with any clerical needs.
“We are actively working to resolve these challenges and are hopeful of having additional support in place soon,” Anderson Healthcare said in the announcement. “We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to add additional resources to our radiology team.”
The health system said it is currently seeing delays of seven days or more in radiology report turnaround times. It emphasized the pause is about “protecting quality and patient safety,” noting that “accurate, timely radiology reports are essential, and we want to ensure we’re giving every patient the attention they deserve.” Anderson Healthcare is currently hiring for several technologist roles across CT, mammography and X-ray and is also seeking help with scheduling, according to its career center.
On Thursday, the system posted a webpage for patients further outlining staffing challenges in the specialty. Anderson Healthcare cited a February Neiman Health Policy Institute study, which claimed the radiologist shortage will likely persist for the next 30 years, without actions to correct it. The update also highlighted radiology staffing challenges in other states such as Michigan and noted that new residency slots are failing to keep up with physician retirements.
“The radiologist shortage is a national crisis that is now affecting communities in the Midwest—including Anderson Healthcare and many other systems in the region,” the webpage said. “Anderson Healthcare has chosen to be transparent with this issue and has taken proactive steps to reduce outpatient radiology volume to allow existing teams to catch up on delayed interpretations.”
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.