Health Systems Form Rural Care Coalition
A coalition of more than 20 health systems has launched a national initiative to expand specialty and technology-enabled care to rural and underserved areas. The effort will focus on using scalable outpatient models, which will likely include diagnostic imaging services, to improve access for these communities.
- The National Specialty Care Access Coalition (NSCAC) was formed by over 20 U.S. health systems to scale up technology-enabled specialty care models for rural and underserved urban areas. Key technology partners include T-Mobile, Sevaro Health, and Samsung. The coalition's initial priorities are to standardize care models, propose policy reforms to CMS and state Medicaid agencies, and launch pilot programs in specialties like cardiology and neurology. - This initiative comes as CMS rolls out its Rural Health Transformation initiative, backed by over $50 billion in federal and state funding to improve rural healthcare access and infrastructure. The coalition aims to move beyond isolated pilot programs to create nationally scalable solutions. - The outpatient imaging market is experiencing significant growth, with projections indicating a 14% increase in advanced imaging and a 10% rise in standard outpatient imaging over the next decade. PET utilization is expected to grow by 23%, followed by ultrasound at 16% and CT at 15%. This shift is driven by the lower cost and greater convenience of outpatient centers, which now handle approximately 40% of all imaging volumes. - Health systems are increasingly adopting "systemness" strategies by creating coordinated networks of hospitals and outpatient imaging sites to capture this growth. This often involves investing in smaller-footprint, high-performance imaging equipment suitable for clinics or mobile units. A study in the American Journal of Roentgenology suggests that shifting just 10% of hospital-based care to outpatient settings could save $125 billion annually. - Radiology departments are facing significant staffing shortages and burnout, which impacts turnaround times and quality of care. This has increased the demand for technologies that improve efficiency, such as AI for workflow automation and remote scanning solutions that allow technologists to operate equipment from a different location. - The FDA has approved over 873 AI algorithms for radiology, making it the specialty most impacted by AI. These tools assist with tasks like image interpretation, workflow triage, and automated reporting. AI integration is seen as a key strategy to manage rising imaging volumes and mitigate the effects of staffing shortages. - The American College of Radiology (ACR) regularly updates its appropriateness criteria to ensure physicians order only necessary imaging exams, which helps manage radiologist workload. The latest update added 13 new topics, bringing the total to 270 topics covering 4,000 clinical scenarios. The ACR has also provided updated guidance on supervision requirements for contrast media administration to offer more flexibility for imaging centers. - Leading mobile and outpatient imaging providers include RadNet, Inc., MedQuest Associates, P.C., and DMS Health Technologies, Inc. These companies are expanding their networks through acquisitions and partnerships with healthcare systems to meet the demand for decentralized diagnostics. The mobile imaging services market is projected to reach $4.25 billion by 2030.
