MINNEAPOLIS, MN — (August 15, 2016) vRad (Virtual Radiologic), a MEDNAX, Inc. (NYSE: MD) company and the nation’s leading teleradiology services and telemedicine company, announced it has added more than 120 board-certified radiologists since January 2016 in response to a surge in year-over-year imaging volume through June 2016. vRad is on track to interpret nearly 6.5 million patient studies for the year.
“We’re pleased to welcome so many world-class physicians to our growing organization during this period of unprecedented growth,” says Benjamin W. Strong, MD (ABR, ABIM), vRad’s Chief Medical Officer. “The diverse subspecialty expertise that our new physicians bring will provide critical support as we continue to focus on our commitment to quality patient care for our radiology group and hospital partners.”
vRad’s newly recruited physicians have an average tenure of more than eight years, and 68 percent are fellowship trained in one or more subspecialties. Due to the complexities of credentialing and licensing for a national practice, the lead time from contract signing to reading typically takes a minimum of six months. Physicians hired in the beginning of the year are now being added to client rosters; 18 new radiologists began reading for vRad in July. Among them are:
· Dr. Ira Wolke, who has completed three fellowships; a Body Imaging fellowship at University of Illinois College of Medicine, and both a Nuclear Medicine and Pediatric Radiology fellowship at Northwestern University;
· Dr. Banu Oner, who has both a Women's Imaging fellowship from Brigham & Women's Hospital and a Vascular & Interventional Radiology fellowship from the University of Massachusetts Medical School;
· Dr. Stephanie Runyan, who has a Musculoskeletal fellowship from Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, and;
· Dr. Shanshan Bao who has a fellowship in Pediatric Radiology from Stanford University.
“We expect to continue to see benefits to our radiology group and hospital clients as we onboard new radiologists throughout the rest of the year,” adds Dr. Strong.
An additional 21 radiologists are scheduled to begin reading in August, and at least 59 more will start from September through December. vRad expects to recruit an additional 80 radiologists during the second half of the year in anticipation of 2017 client demand.
“Our recruiting team has been working hard to bring experienced, qualified and fellowship-trained physicians into our organization,” says Tricia Sickmann, vRad’s Vice President of Human Resources and Medical Services. “We have maintained an annual physician retention rate of more than 95 percent, so it’s always our goal to onboard the ideal candidate, which is essential to consistent and quality patient care.”
vRad was chosen as one of Minnesota Business magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” in 2016. The “Top 100,” now in its fifth year, assesses hundreds of businesses through an independent research process to determine which Minnesota companies excel in work environment, benefits and overall satisfaction.
About vRad
vRad (Virtual Radiologic) is the leading national teleradiology services and telemedicine company with over 480 U.S. board-certified and eligible physicians, 75% of whom are subspecialty trained. Its clinical expertise and evidence-based insight help clients make decisions about the health of their patients and their imaging services. vRad interprets and processes patient imaging studies on the world’s largest and most advanced teleradiology PACS for 2,100+ client hospital, health system and radiology group facilities in all 50 states. The practice has 15 issued patents for innovation in telemedicine workflow, and is a recognized leader in imaging analytics and deep learning-assisted diagnostics. It is also a past winner of Frost & Sullivan’s Visionary Innovation Award for Medical Imaging Analytics (North America). For more information, please visitwww.vrad.com. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. vRad is a MEDNAX company, a national health solutions partner specializing in neonatal and other pediatric services, anesthesia, radiology, pediatric cardiology and other physician and management services.
Certain statements and information in this press release may be deemed to contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements relating to vRad’s objectives, plans and strategies, and all statements, other than statements of historical facts, that address activities, events or developments that vRad intends, expects, projects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future. These statements are often characterized by terminology such as “believe”, “hope”, “may”, “anticipate”, “should”, “intend”, “plan”, “will”, “expect”, “estimate”, “project”, “positioned”, “strategy” and similar expressions, and are based on assumptions and assessments made by vRad’s management in light of their experience and their perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors they believe to be appropriate. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date hereof, and neither vRad nor MEDNAX undertakes a duty to update or revise any such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results, developments, and business decisions to differ materially from forward-looking statements are described in MEDNAX’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, including the sections entitled “Risk Factors”, as well MEDNAX’s current reports on Form 8-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.