The Economics of Radiology Education in the United States: Challenges and Opportunities

Radiology medical education in the United States continues to face complex economic challenges. Training programs in this field are expanding at an insufficient rate relative to demand. Despite decades-old federal caps on radiology training positions, Medicare continues to be the largest provider of graduate medical education funding by a wide margin. The recent increase in radiology case volume is contributing to burnout and aggravating the pressures on academic radiology programs, further increasing the need for a larger and well-trained radiology workforce. Understanding the current radiology education funding structure is paramount for crafting potential solutions. Diversifying funding approaches, bolstering traditional funding sources, and developing new funding mechanisms for radiology education will enhance the pipeline for practicing radiologists. This review provides a summary of current radiology education funding, the impact of Medicare training positions caps on graduate medical education, and the impact of recent federal health care spending cuts on radiology training and proposes strategies to increase the number of radiology residency graduates.