Urologists continue to expand into interventional radiology with 2 new openings

Urologists continue to expand into interventional radiology with two recent clinic openings. 

Alabama-based Clinical Urology Associates is one of the latest to begin offering IR services to its patients. The practice announced June 29 that it is teaming with radiologist David J. Kim, MD, to launch an office-based prostate artery embolization program in Albertville, Alabama. 

The minimally invasive, image-guided procedure is used to help treat an enlarged prostate. It has grown in popularity among urology groups after the American Urological Association amended its guidelines in 2023 to endorse PAE as a treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia. 

“The launch represents an important expansion of minimally invasive treatment options for men with BPH in Albertville, Gadsden and surrounding communities throughout northeastern Alabama,” Clinical Urology Associates said in an announcement. “By offering PAE in an office-based setting, the partnership is designed to provide patients with a coordinated experience that connects their established urology care with specialized interventional radiology treatment.”

The program officially kicked off on June 26 with three patients successfully undergoing prostate artery embolization procedures at the urology group’s office. Clinical Urology Associates said the program combines its own clinical expertise and patient relationships with Dr. Kim’s IR know-how. A third partner—Naples, Florida-based Blue Ocean Interventional Radiology—will help with program development and operational resources. 

Blue Ocean said it works to team with physician practices to help them develop and operate office-based IR programs. Its offers development, clinical, operational and administrative support to practices expanding access to these procedures. Blue Ocean currently lists almost 40 locations on its website, run through partnerships with groups including Advanced Urology, the Idaho Urologic Institute, and Urology Associates of Connecticut. 

“The successful completion of all three procedures on launch day established the foundation for continued growth of the Albertville program,” Clinical Urology Associates added. “The participating organizations also anticipate that the [office-based lab’s] capabilities may support additional medically appropriate embolization procedures in the future.”

Another partnership

Meanwhile, Virginia-based IR Centers, a platform company like Blue Ocean, also continues to expand its radiologist-urologist partnership model. 

IR Centers first teamed with the Michigan Institute of Urology in late 2023 to open a new radiology center in the Detroit suburb of Troy. The two announced on Monday that they are further expanding the model in Michigan, opening a third outpatient IR lab. 

As part of the expansion, board-certified interventional radiologist Jeremy Handel, MD, is joining the program to support rising demand across the region. IR Centers said the expansion will help increase capacity, reduce wait times and extend access to image-guided alternatives to surgery. 

"Demand for minimally invasive outpatient care continues to outpace the capacity of traditional settings, and Michigan Institute of Urology has been an outstanding partner in meeting that demand," radiologist Sandeep Bagla, MD, CEO of IR Centers, said in a statement July 6. "Expanding to a third IR lab is a direct response to patient need. It reflects the strength of this collaboration and our shared belief that advanced, image-guided care belongs close to the communities it serves."

Bagla and colleagues noted that the expanded program will continue to offer IR procedures for conditions including benign prostatic hyperplasia, pelvic venous disorders and chronic pain, hemorrhoidal disease and musculoskeletal conditions. IR Centers now boasts around 40 centers across the U.S., run in partnership with urologists, orthopedists, and GI specialists. It also previously touted two more practice partnerships in April.

The organization also has faced criticism from some interventional radiologists, who worry this care model is ceding too much control to other medical specialties.