Radiology Partners says it has continued to grow in 2020, despite widespread drops in imaging volume that at one point forced the firm to furlough employees and temporarily close facilities.
The El Segundo, California-based imaging behemoth said that since January, it has expanded its services into New York and Missouri for the first time and added 82 new client sites. All told, the expansion represents roughly 2 million additional imaging exams each year, Rad Partners announced Thursday.
“These are challenging times for all of us in radiology. RP’s continued growth, both in terms of clients served and number of radiologists, is a result of our strong financial position and ability to stay true to our mission and values,” Chief Operating Officer Anthony Gabriel, MD, said in a statement issued Aug. 6.
In addition, the firm has also increased its presence this year in Florida, Texas, South Carolina, Ohio, Illinois, California, New Mexico and Louisiana. To help support its expansion, Rad Partners added more than 220 radiologists to its roster, representing “record breaking” new doc hiring for the firm, according to the announcement.
Radiology Partners also inked to “multiple new partnerships” with independent practices across five states so far in 2020. Officials did not elaborate on the deals but expect the transactions to close “in the near future.”
The company bills itself as the largest physician-led and owned radiology practice in the U.S., serving some 1,300 healthcare facilities across the country (up from 1,200 listed in previous announcements). Rad Partners has built itself up through acquisitions in recent years, including buying two more practices at the tail end of 2019.
Chief Medical Officer Jay Bronner—who recently announced his departure—said RP at one point sustained a more than 60% slide in outpatient imaging volume. That forced some of its practices to temporarily close facilities and furlough employees and resulted in a recent credit downgrade from Standard & Poor’s.
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.