More radiologists now devoting their practices to interventional radiology, Medicare analysis shows
A new paper in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology examines trends in the concentration of interventional radiology work among radiologists from 2008 through 2023, highlighting the specialty’s continued growth over the timeframe.
IR continues to become a more concentrated area of practice among U.S. radiologists, with a growing share of physicians dedicating the majority of their clinical workload to procedures. To get a better idea of exactly how the specialty has grown over the years, researchers analyzed Medicare claims from a 5% sample of fee-for-service beneficiaries, representing 476,688 radiologist-years and 46,533 unique radiologists. The group classified rads according to the proportion of their workload attributable to IR-related services, including procedures and evaluation and management services.
Through this, the team determined that the percentage of radiologists reporting that more than 90% of their work involved IR has nearly doubled since 2008, increasing from 4.1% to 8.8% in 2023. The analysis highlighted a shift among radiologists who performed any IR-related work. The proportion whose practices consisted of a majority (more than 50%) of IR work increased from 12.6% in 2008 to 18.5% in 2023.
The findings suggest that IR practice is becoming increasingly concentrated among radiologists who devote a substantial portion of their clinical work to image-guided procedures and related patient care.
“This analysis shows that interventional radiology is not only growing—it is maturing,” Saher S. Sabri, MD, FSIR, president of the Society of Interventional Radiology, said in a statement. “What we’re seeing is the impact of IR becoming a primary specialty with its own residency program on real-world practice patterns, with more radiologists building careers centered on IR’s unique combination of imaging expertise, procedural skill and clinical patient management.”
Sabri said that this trend will continue as more residents pursue the specialty, adding that this aligns with “the needs of modern medicine.”
The researchers suggest the changing practice patterns reflect the adaptability of IR. The increasing number of radiologists concentrating their practices on IR may also reflect the specialty's expanding role in minimally invasive treatment and direct patient management.
“The findings point to an important milestone in IR’s evolution from subspecialty to primary specialty,” lead author Luke Wilkins, MD, said in the same statement. “We now have fewer diagnostic radiologists performing small amounts of IR work and a growing share of distinct interventional radiologists, who are devoting the nearly all of their clinical workload to the specialty.”
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In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She began covering the medical imaging industry for Innovate Healthcare in 2021.