Practice Characteristics of the United States General Radiologist Workforce: Most Generalists Work as...

Area of Science:

• Radiology Practice Patterns
• Health Services Research
• Physician Workforce Analysis

Background:

• Subspecialty radiologists' practice patterns are well-documented, but general radiologists' practices remain understudied.
• General radiologists represent the majority of radiologists in the United States.
• Understanding general radiologists' practice patterns is crucial for assessing healthcare access and resource allocation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the practice patterns of general radiologists in the US.
• To define and quantify 'multispecialists' within the general radiologist population.
• To investigate the prevalence of multispecialization across different practice settings and geographic locations.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the 2017 Medicare Provider and Other Supplier Public Use File.
• Employed a validated wRVU-weighted claims-based classification system to assess work efforts.
• Defined generalists as radiologists with less than 50% work in a single subspecialty, and 'multispecialists' as those with at least two subspecialty focus areas exceeding 25% work effort.

Main Results:

• Out of 12,438 general radiologists, 85.0% met the criteria for multispecialists (≥2 focus areas >25% work effort).
• The prevalence of multispecialization remained consistent across years in practice, academic vs. nonacademic status, and practice size.
• A majority of general radiologists were multispecialists in every state, with no association between multispecialization and state population density.

Conclusions:

• The vast majority of US general radiologists function as multispecialists, with nearly all possessing at least one subspecialty focus area.
• This widespread multispecialty practice among general radiologists supports their vital role in ensuring patient access to a broad spectrum of radiology subspecialties.
• Findings highlight the integrated nature of general radiology practice and its contribution to comprehensive patient care.