A trio of private radiology practices spread across three states announced plans to merge on Thursday.

The combined corporation will call itself the Advanced Imaging Alliance, representing a total of 76 radiologists. Physician shareholders will continue owning the organization, operating as separate local divisions in their communities. Practices involved include X-Ray Consultants and its 11 physicians in Indiana; Naugatuck Valley Radiological Associates and 11 more in Connecticut; and Huron Valley Radiology, employing 54 providers in Michigan.

Leaders believe the multi-state practice will better serve one of the nation’s largest Catholic hospital systems, headquartered in Livonia, Michigan.

“The formation of AIA reflects an enhanced alignment with Trinity Health and will deepen and augment the subspecialized radiological patient care provided by each division to all of the hospitals and health systems served by AIA in Indiana, Connecticut and Michigan, 24/7/365,” Eric Ferguson, MD, president and CEO both the alliance and Ypsilanti-based Huron Valley Radiology, said Feb. 3.

Ferguson and colleagues got to know each other as members of Strategic Radiology, an alliance of independent, privately owned provider groups. The three for years have participated in the coalition’s patient safety organization, benchmarking against one another’s quality metrics and building a “high level of trust,” said Edward Yang, MD, president of X-Ray Consultants in Northwest Indiana.

All told, Advanced Imaging Alliance radiologists read 1.395 million studies annually, serving nine Trinity Health hospitals and dozens of other healthcare providers. Geoffrey Manton, MD, president, of Naugatuck Valley Radiological Associates in South Central Connecticut, said M&A activity in the hospital market is blurring boundaries across state lines for radiology practices. Trinity Health was formed through a merger between Holy Cross Health System in Indiana and Mercy Health Services in Michigan, also later adding St. Mary’s Hospital in Connecticut. The system now includes nearly 90 hospitals, with annual operating revenue of more than $20 billion.

“The consolidation trend in the hospital market is creating a national healthcare infrastructure that is not always aligned with local marketplaces,” Manton said in a statement. “AIA is proof that individual independent private practice groups based in communities across America can work together to meet the needs of multi-state health systems.”