What India’s Teleradiology Market Teaches Us About the Future of Medicine

By SAURABH JHA, MD Teleradiology has the same effect on radiologists as Lord Voldemort has on Muggles. It’s the feared end point of the commoditization of imaging, with Rajeev in Bangalore outpricing Rajeev in Chicago for reading follow-up CTs for lung nodules. But despite the fears of U.S. radiologists, their counterparts in India have more pressing things on their mind. “U.S. radiologists think that Indian radiologists are [itching] to steal their jobs. We have plenty of work in India,” reassured Dr. Sumer Sethi, director of TeleRad Providers of New Delhi. A tech-savvy blogger, Sethi founded TeleRad Providers in a flash of inspiration and an appreciation of market forces. “There is unimaginable competition in private medical imaging in New Delhi,” he said. A new radiologist wishing to set up shop in one of India’s metropolitan areas faces large upfront costs: There is little discount for a 1.5-tesla MRI scanner. This means one must have abundant spare change floating around — or ancestral wealth. And once the shop is set up, the aspiring radiology entrepreneur embarks on a long and uncertain road toward establishing reputation and market share. Employment models in the U.S., such as partnership tracks and buying into a practice, are not generally available to Indian radiologists. The alternative to entrepreneurship is working as a salaried employee for a corporate hospital, private imaging center, or government hospital. That was no...
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: THCB Radiology Saurabh Jha Teleradiology Source Type: blogs