Interventional radiologists launch new chain of standalone outpatient IR centers
Two California interventional radiologists are launching a chain of standalone outpatient IR centers, seeking to bring the specialty closer to their communities.
Co-founders Jonathan Steinberger, MD, and Gabriel Lipshutz, MD, on Wednesday announced the launch of Elmnt IR with an initial location in Los Angeles. This marks the first of several planned centers, providing enhanced access to minimally invasive procedures.
Elmnt IR will initially focus on “high impact conditions” where IR therapies can meaningfully improve outcomes. These will include benign prostatic hyperplasia, uterine fibroids, knee osteoarthritis, and select oncologic interventions. They’re now developing relationships with hospitals and physicians, hoping to create “seamless referral pathways.”
“For physicians, the goal is to do what’s best for the patient without losing continuity or visibility,” Steinberger, an IR specialist affiliated with Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said in a statement April 22. “Our role is to provide the appropriate minimally invasive option while keeping the referring physician fully informed and involved at every step.”
Steinberger and Lipshutz noted that interventional radiology is rapidly reshaping how a wide range of conditions can be treated. IR offers alternatives to surgery that come with less pain, lower risk and faster recovery. However, despite these advantages, procedures have traditionally been tied to large hospital systems—“limiting access, creating friction in referrals and adding unnecessary complexity.”
Elmnt IR wants to change this, focusing on the principle that the “referring physician should remain the central decision-maker and coordinator of care.” They’ll seek to extend these patient-physician relationships, providing interventional care while “maintaining full transparency throughout the patient journey.”
“Patients deserve to understand their full range of options, and physicians deserve partners who respect their role in guiding those decisions. That’s what Elmnt is built to deliver,” Lipshutz, the company’s chief business officer, who also previously worked with Cedars-Sinai, said in a statement.
Elmnt IR did not disclose locations for future freestanding facilities but emphasized its model is intended to scale beyond a single site. The company also was co-founded by Steven Yecies, MBA, managing partner with the New Dimensions Health Fund, which makes investments of $50 million to $250 million in healthcare IT and services companies.
“Elmnt is being built to extend far beyond its initial sites,” Yecies, who is executive chair of the IR company, said in a statement. “Our goal is to create a new standard for how minimally invasive care is delivered—one that brings these capabilities into the community, integrates seamlessly with referring physicians, and ultimately defines how minimally invasive care is delivered at scale. This first centers are an important step, but it’s just the beginning.”
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.