Radiology practice SimonMed Imaging names chief medical officer
SimonMed Imaging has named Sean Raj, MD, MBA, as its new chief medical officer, the Scottsdale, Arizona-based radiology practice announced Monday.
The nationally recognized radiologist first joined the company in 2021 as chief innovation officer, since then playing a “pivotal role” in shaping its artificial intelligence offerings. Raj will now also oversee SimonMed’s clinical strategy as it seeks to grow further beyond its 175-plus outpatient imaging centers.
“Dr. Raj has been a visionary force at SimonMed,” CEO and Founder John Simon, MD, said in a statement Sept. 15. “His leadership has not only transformed how we think about AI and implementation of digital innovations but has also enhanced the value we deliver to patients and referring providers.”
As CIO, Raj has helped build SimonMed’s AI programs that include Mammogram+Heart, a $90 self-pay add-on that also checks women’s breast arterial calcification, a marker of heart disease risk. He’s been tasked with the evaluation, integration and scaling of advanced technologies including deep learning, workflow enhancements and automation. Raj also has worked with the practice’s leadership and board on enterprise strategy on developing national service lines.
In the new role, he’ll oversee quality initiatives, clinical operations, protocol standardization and physician engagement. Raj also will guide the expansion of SimonOne, the practice’s elective whole-body MRI offering, into new markets. Prior to joining the organization four years ago, he had served as medical director of the Darlene G. Cass Women’s Imaging Centers at Baylor Scott & White Health in Dallas. Before that, he was a partner with American Radiology Associates, also located in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Raj completed a clinical breast imaging fellowship through Harvard Medical School and earned his MBA at Emory University in Atlanta.
“I’m deeply honored to take on this expanded leadership role,” Raj said in a statement. “SimonMed stands at the intersection of clinical quality, innovation and access, and I believe we are just getting started.”
Founded in 2003, SimonMed bills itself as one of the largest outpatient medical imaging providers in the U.S., spanning 11 states and employing 200-plus radiologists. The group inked a $600 million partnership with New York private equity firm American Securities in 2021 and has grown steadily since then.
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.