At the 2010 ACVR meeting, I stated that it was my impression that radiologists would soon be flocking back to academia. This statement was made based on numerous conversations with new radiologists and radiologists who are not content with their private practice employment who are considering their career options.
To some degree, there seems to be a general discontent with many private practice radiology offerings because of competition from internists for ultrasound studies, a general lack of support from the hospital administration, goofy reimbursement structures that disincentivize clinicians from utilizing radiologists, and requirements for outpatient imaging, etc. Newly minted radiologists are also reluctant to go into full time teleradiology.
Looking through the (many) job postings on the ACVR website, it would appear that, based, on the number of academic positions available, “flocking back to academia” has not quite happened according to my timeline. Nonetheless, I still feel that a return to the university is inevitable. All it will take is a little foresight and out of the box thinking by the hospital administrators to tip things in their favor.
The salary is not too low
Ask a university professor why radiologists are not coming to academia and they are likely to tell you something along the lines of “the salary is too low. These kids today want $$$.” I would contend that the location of the universities is more of an issue but that is up for debate. Indeed the salary is lower at a university when compared to a private practice but I also contend that the salary is not too low and, in many cases, the salary is not the “deal breaker issue.” The reality is that the difference between many private practice jobs and university jobs is not as great as you might think and any salary difference there are can be leveled by allowing radiologists to perform teleradiology consulting to supplement their income.
Allowing university radiologists to supplement their income through teleradiology is one solution that is proven to work. This model has been used at veterinary universities in two ways:
- Model 1: Allow radiologists to work for themselves: There are a number of teleradiology outlets available for university radiologists. Working part time for a large teleradiology company or working for themselves by accepting images directly from former students and colleagues are models that are currently used by university professors. This situation can be difficult for administration to swallow. Perhaps a deal can be worked out between the radiologist and the university where 80% of the revenues go to the radiologist and 20% go to the university. A little creativity will go a long way.
- Model 2: Start a teleradiology service through the university. Several universities are now operating their own (successful) teleradiology services. This type of service is a practice builder for the university and teleradiology cases can be used as teaching cases. A teleradiology service can be run outside of the hospital IT department using DVMinsight or other cloud based provider that can create a fully branded, customized, and supported solution.
One issue you will run into
One issue that every hospital administrator will run with regard to teleradiology is jealousy among the other clinicians at the hospital. Radiology lends itself to teleradiology consulting in a way that no other specialty does. This has created issues at universities (and referral hospitals) but administrators need to remember that they are in a “damned if they do or damned if they don’t” situation. If they ignore the needs of academic radiologists they will have no radiologists. Be strong. Being a hospital administrator is tougher than Nadya Suleman trying to negotiate a fight between her octouplets over funnel cakes at the county fair.
Clinicians outside of radiology need to realize that teleradiology is anything but a radiation vacation. Despite what others may think, turning reports around in a few hours, competition from other providers, and sitting in front of a computer for hours on end (including evenings and weekends) is anything but a vacation and radiologists work for every penny of their consulting income.
For more information about how you can set up your teleradiology service or a teleradiology service for your university or referral hospital, please contact us at www.dvminsight.com or 866-669-8090.