Management education during radiology residency: development of an educational practice

The practice of radiology has dramatically increased in complexity, largely due to three broad influences. These include the proliferation of imaging technologies, the economic pressures to limit healthcare costs, and the increasingly intrusive role of third parties (whether payors, regulators, or government) in everyday healthcare transactions. Practicing radiologists have been adapting to these technologic and socioeconomic changes and will continue to do so by managing the quality and scope of their professional services, the workflow of radiology operations, and the economic viability of their practices. It is likely that radiology practices would benefit from the presence of one or more radiologists with managerial training and skills. In this article, it is proposed that management education for radiologists may actually be initiated during residency; the value and the experiences with such an educational practice are described.