Boutique radiology practices help meet surging demand of ageing population

Others in the industry say it’s a challenge for the sector to cater for the growing number of older patients who require imaging services that aren’t as financially rewarding for providers.

“Some corporate practices are cutting services that people actually need because there’s not the throughput,” says Dr Jacqui Milne, co-founder and owner of Brisbane Radiology. “We are doing the opposite.” In November, her company is opening a breast clinic because many women are having to wait 10-12 months to be seen elsewhere.

Rising demand for radiologists

Radiologists are specialist medical doctors who interpret x-rays and other medical imaging tests, diagnose conditions and carry out treatments. The common types of imaging people have include a computed tomography (CT) scan which uses many x-rays to create a detailed image of bones, soft tissue, blood vessels and organs.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses a magnetic field, radio waves and a computer to develop a detailed image. An MRI may detect tumours or diseases in the bowel, heart or liver. Ultrasound uses high frequency sound waves to create moving images to monitor a baby’s development or diagnose unexplained internal pain and swelling.

Underpinning demand is the increasing number of older Australians as a percentage of the total population. In Queensland, for example, the number of seniors has tripled in the past 40 years. The state has more than 926,000 people over the age of 65, one in six of the total population, and most live in the south-east of the state.

Diagnostic imaging is a $5.8 billion industry in Australia with 2660 businesses, according to IBIS. As more practices have acquired new technology and benefited from Medicare rebates, demand has grown steadily.

The number of MRI scans, for example, more than doubled over the past decade to 1.4 million in 2022-23 (from 600,000 in 2012-13). The number of CT scans rose 76 per cent over the same period, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

As professionals, radiologists are in short supply, especially in rural areas. Efforts to recruit internationally still cannot fill many vacancies, according to the most recent workforce census of radiologists conducted in 2020 by the profession’s peak body.

Australia needs to boost its numbers of radiology trainees to tackle the persistent shortage and uneven distribution of clinical radiologists and reduce reliance on international medical graduates, according to the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR).

Watts has experienced the shortage of radiologists as he tries to recruit for his growing business.

“It is challenging for us to meet the demand,” he says. “We’re looking for the right people with appropriate sub-specialist qualifications to fill the particular niches that we serve. Recruitment is very difficult across the board – and radiographers and sonographers are also hard to find.”

The challenges of staying small

Both Watts and Milne have had experience working in a corporate radiology environment as both worked at South Coast Radiology Group which became Integral Diagnostics, when the practice amalgamated with another group and listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2015.

There’s definitely a role for both corporate and boutique businesses, says Milne.

“We all fill different niches,” she says. “Some people start a boutique business, and it grows big and others bail out of the corporate world when it gets out of control. They find the personal touch just goes out the window and some of the values that are really dear to the founder’s heart aren’t there anymore.”

A deterrent to smaller businesses is the considerable up-front investment, particularly with rapidly evolving technology.

“It was very important to us to be at the leading edge of technology, to have equipment that is ‘best in class’,” Watts says. “And that comes at a cost.”

Panorama’s imaging technology includes a 640-slice CT scanner which can scan the entire heart in just a quarter of a second, providing low radiation dose, high-resolution detail of fine structures including the narrowing of coronary arteries.

Advanced 3T MRI with AI, which can cost as much as $2 million, allows radiologists to see fine nerves, tendons and ligaments, disrupted muscle fibres from sports injuries and small prostate cancers.

To learn more, visit panoramaradiology.com.au/