Strategic Radiology Coalition Adds Two Practices
The Strategic Radiology coalition has expanded its network by adding two new member practices. Evansville Radiology joined, adding to the coalition's regional leadership, while Radiology Chartered of Wichita, Kansas, also became a member, expanding collaboration in the Upper Midwest.
- The addition of these two practices is part of a larger trend of consolidation in the radiology market; from 2014 to 2023, the number of radiology practices in the U.S. decreased by 14.7% while the number of radiologists grew by 17.3%. - Coalitions like Strategic Radiology, which now includes 43 member groups and over 2,000 radiologists, are a response by independent practices to maintain physician ownership and leverage collective scale for purchasing and payer negotiations. - This move comes as private equity investment continues to fuel consolidation, with PE-backed and hospital-owned radiology practices commanding significantly higher negotiated prices—up to 16% and 43% higher, respectively—than independent practices. - The growth of large, independent coalitions and corporate-backed platforms is happening alongside a major site-of-care shift; a 2024 analysis found that about 25 percentage points of commercial imaging volume could move from hospital-based settings to lower-cost outpatient sites. - Strategic Radiology's expansion reflects the pressure on private practices to gain scale as the number of practices with 100 or more radiologists has grown by nearly 350% between 2014 and 2023. - Evansville Radiology is one of the largest sub-specialty radiology groups in Indiana, and its decision to join a national coalition points to the strategic need for regional leaders to align with larger networks to remain competitive.
