Two years of sustained growth in membership have added heft and momentum to the leading coalition of independently owned private radiology practices. Since the start of 2023, Strategic Radiology has added 14 radiology practices—representing an additional 560 private practice radiologists—bringing the total number of member practices to 43 groups and more than 2,000 individual private practice radiologists.

"We are deeply gratified to have added so many exceptional private practices and like-minded radiologists to our growing coalition these past several years," said Scott Bundy, MD, FACR, CEO and Chair of Strategic Radiology since January 2021. "The more we grow, the more we can leverage our scale to benefit our member practices."

As the coalition grows, so too does the value of access to the vast SR network of private practice radiologists and practice leaders. "We've all learned so much from each other," said Christopher Hedley, MD, president of SR founding member The Hill Medical Corporation, Arcadia, CA, and vice president of the SR Executive Committee. "The resources you have here are unsurpassed."

New member Darren Spoden, DO, president, Regional Diagnostic Radiology (RDR), Sartell, MN, noted that some of the benefits of membership for RDR are quantifiable while others are more difficult to associate with a number . "The tangible benefits are the cost savings, and we've already saved a lot in terms of  our IT stack and renegotiating our contracts through the collective bargaining of SR," he says. "But the intangibles for leadership development are huge. We have a new leader in our practice and to be able to get him plugged into like-minded leaders has been huge and will continue to be a big benefit for us."

All SR member groups are 100% physician-owned, a prerequisite of membership. "They say the best partners in business have complementary skillsets with shared vision, and I would say that is the primary benefit of Strategic Radiology," asserts Nicholas Galante, MD, MSK subspecialist at Radiology Associates of North Texas, a 280-radiologist member group based in Dallas-Fort Worth. "You have a bunch of small, mid-sized, and large groups with complementary knowledge bases but shared vision for what they want to see the practice of radiology be in the physician-owned world."

Shared Goals

Like-minded is a term that is central to the SR cultural zeitgeist, used to describe a shared commitment to quality medicine and the private practice model of radiology delivery among membership, as well as the willingness to take on the responsibilities—and the rewards—of clinical and operational excellence.

"I've had conversations with many private practice leaders across the country these past several years, and there is keen interest in maintaining and strengthening the private practice model," Dr. Bundy shares. "Strategic Radiology has a great deal of potential for further growth."

The past few years have seen not just the growth in the number of member practices, but also an uptick in the interest from large groups of 50 or more radiologists with sophisticated infrastructures.

Rhode Island Medical Imaging (RIMI), a 90-radiologist private practice based in Warwick, RI,  joined SR in 2024. RIMI serves as the academic department of Brown University Medical School but also operates a network of 15 outpatient imaging centers throughout the communities served by the practice. The practice is wholly owned by member radiologists.

"We don't just want to take advantage of being a member of Strategic Radiology," notes John Pezzullo, MD, RIMI president. "We want to contribute to the overall health and growth of the organization."

More recently, University Radiology Group (URG) elected to rejoin the SR coalition in March of 2025 after a short absence.  URG's 180+ radiologists serve hospitals, imaging centers, and outpatient practices while also fulfilling an academic mission as the radiology faculty at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

"We recognize the immense value of collaborating with like-minded radiology groups across the country," said Sandip Basak, MD, FACR, Chairman of the Board, University Radiology Group.  "We look forward to re-engaging with SR's initiatives to enhance quality and innovation in radiology."

Scale Counts

Increased scale has been instrumental in SR's ability to engage with industry vendors and grow the number and value of those relationships during the past two years, according to Greg Thomson, who joined SR as chief operating officer (COO) at the start of 2024.

 "We have seen a great deal of interest from industry-leading companies that want to connect with our members and provide opportunities to develop, test, validate, and purchase radiological tools," said Mr. Thomson. Currently, the organization's Group Purchasing Program includes 43 vendors, many of which provide aggregated tiered discounts as the number of participants grow.

"The relationship with SR has allowed us to explore what PACS systems are out there, working with other SR members, and come to a decision based on a price point that was competitive based on the size of SR and the leverage that the organization provides," explains Andy Brown, MD, president of member group ARA Physician Specialists in Asheville, NC. "That is something that is invaluable for a private practice: To be able to accomplish something that we otherwise couldn't at our size."

SR's vendor partners include insurance brokers, billing and coding services, PACS software, medical imaging equipment, consulting services, and AI-based applications that provide efficiency benefits across all practice domains.

Growth, nonetheless, entails challenges for a virtual organization that prizes collaborative activities, on-site meetings, and networking opportunities. When the coalition meets in Los Angeles at the end of April for its first Summit of 2025, members will engage in discussions related to continued growth of the organization and what resources are needed to support its member owners.

"Our specialty provides great value to health care and, most importantly, our patients, as demonstrated by growth outpacing most other health care services and the rapid technological advances our field is currently experiencing," said Dr. Bundy. "We are extremely optimistic about the future of both Radiology and the wholly physician owned independent private practice model."