Jay Bronner, MD, Radiology Partners’ president and inaugural chief medical officer, is stepping down at the end of 2020, the imaging giant announced on Wednesday.
Starting this month, the longtime CMO transitioned to a part-time role, which has allowed him to help design the “next phase of clinical leadership” at the El Segundo, California, firm.
Bronner is not taking a new position elsewhere, nor is he retiring, and Rad Partners plans to take the next “several months” to evaluate the C-suite role. In the meantime, new physician leaders are assuming other key duties that were covered by the position.
“As our first CMO, Jay has had a profound impact on RP, helping establish our culture and values and develop our clinical programs,” Chairman and CEO Rich Whitney said in a statement issued July 29. “Jay has also spent a significant part of his tenure at RP in creating partnerships that helped contribute to our growth with radiology practices, hospitals and most recently hospital systems. We appreciate all that he has done for our patients, our practice and the radiology profession.”
Bronner first joined Rad Partners in 2013 shortly after the firm was founded with a $60 million investment from venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates. During his tenure, he helped “guide and shape” numerous endeavors, including RP’s research institute. He also recently detailed in JACR how the mega practice has worked to use its considerable scale to solve the value equation. And under his leadership, the practice won the 2019 Radiology Business Journal Imaging Innovation Award, along with "numerous" other distinctions.
In a statement, Bronner called leaving RP "bittersweet, as it has been a true privilege to help build a practice rooted in mission, values, physician-centricity and clinical and operational autonomy." He plans to pursue a similar mission in a different clinical specialty, but did not offer any specifics, adding that he has "always had an entrepreneurial spirit."
"As I look ahead, the timing of this change is right, as there is enough runway in my career to pursue this new venture with the passion and energy required to start something new," he said. "While it’s too early to talk about the details, I very much look forward to sharing more when the time is appropriate."
Rad Partners bills itself as the largest physician-led and owned radiology practice in the U.S., serving more than 1,200 healthcare facilities. The firm has built itself up through acquisitions in recent years, including acquiring two practices at the tail end of 2019. Previous announcements had pegged their doc roster at 1,500 across 24 states, but July 29’s news excluded the latest tally.
Like others, the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted Rad Partners in recent months. Standard & Poor’s downgraded the company in April, concerned about its debt load and further headwinds from the coronavirus crisis. Earlier this year, Bronner told Radiology Business that RP had seen a more than 60% decline on the outpatient side, forcing some practices to temporarily close facilities and furlough employees.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include additional comments from Jay Bronner.
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.