Characteristics of mixed diagnostic radiology-radiation oncology practices

Our objectives were to describe the characteristics of "mixed practices"-that is, practices performing both diagnostic radiology and radiation oncology services-and to compare mixed practices with multiradiologist diagnostic radiology-only practices.

In 1999, the American College of Radiology surveyed 970 practices by mail, using a 65-item questionnaire. A response rate of 66% was achieved. Responses were weighted such that they were representative of all the radiology practices in the United States. The estimates cited in this article were primarily drawn from this 1999 survey.

Mixed practices were nearly evenly divided between large (area population, > or = 1 million) and small metropolitan areas (area population, from 50,000 to 1 million). We found that 63% of mixed practices were nonacademic private practices; 27% were academic. Approximately 50% contained 15 or more members. Mixed practices were predominantly owned by members of the practice and predominantly served both hospitals and nonhospital settings. At least 90% of mixed practices performed mammography, imaging-guided breast biopsy, sonography, and nuclear medicine. We found that compared with multiradiologist diagnostic radiology-only practices, mixed practices were larger and were more likely to be academic, to serve both hospital and nonhospital settings, and to perform interventional and nuclear medicine procedures.

The characteristics of a mixed practice differ from those of a multiradiologist diagnostic radiology-only practice.