Radiology group sues former hospital partner, claiming doc thievery led to its demise
A New Mexico radiology group is suing its former hospital partner, claiming the organization poached away its physicians, leading to the practice’s eventual demise.
Albuquerque-based Zia Diagnostic Imaging first filed the complaint on Oct. 15 in Bernalillo County district court. The radiology group alleges that—after signing a five-year contract with Lovelace Health System in 2020—the hospital group hired away three interventional radiologists in late 2023.
These physicians then began performing other diagnostic radiology services as hospital employees, violating the exclusivity clause in the contract, the Albuquerque Journal reported Monday. This started a domino effect, with four more radiologists resigning, eventually leaving New Mexico to secure employment in other states.
“It should be noted that their departure was a direct result of the contentious environment created by the (interventional radiologists’) threat to leave,” Zia Managing Partner Jeffrey Hebert, MD, told the publication.
Zia Diagnostic Imaging is seeking upward of $7 million in damages, according to the complaint. The five-hospital system, meanwhile, said it does not comment on pending litigation.
Six radiologists remained with Zia Diagnostic Imaging after the resignations until the practice ended its agreement with Lovelace in spring 2024. The remaining docs eventually all took jobs elsewhere, with the imaging group ceasing providing radiology services, according to Hebert.
Before then, the situation was further exacerbated by a November 2023 cyberattack, according to the complaint. Computer systems reportedly remained out of commission for months, violating terms of the 2020 contract, which required Lovelace to provide adequate equipment. Amid these challenges, Zia radiologists were forced to hand write reports and manually deliver them by foot, phone or fax. At one point, Lovelace had allegedly sent patients to scanners without identification bracelets or room numbers, which led to patient images being mislabeled.
“Hundreds or perhaps thousands of imaging studies were not provided to Zia providers for days, weeks, and months,” the lawsuit states. “These untenable conditions persisted far past any reasonable timeframe for Lovelace to address and cure the deleterious effects of the cyberattack,” attorneys added.
Zia Diagnostic Imaging first registered as a business in 2007 and entered its first exclusive agreement with Lovelace—part of the larger Ardent Health—the following year. It employed approximately 15 physicians prior to going out of business, according to Medicare records.
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.