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VRad (Virtual Radiologic), maybe a MEDNAX company and therefore the nation’s leading teleradiology services and Telemedicine Company. With quite 500 U.S. board-certified and eligible physicians, 70 percent of whom are subspecialty trained; vRad provides its services to quite 2,100 facilities altogether 50 states.

But ask vRad President and COO Shannon Werb what differentiates vRad from other teleradiology providers and he focuses on the composition of the practice, not its size.

“We are first a physician practice—the largest radiology practice within the country,” Werb explains. “And second, we’re a technology organization and provider.”

As a technology provider, vRad advertises a powerful resume, consisting of 17 patents for telemedicine workflow innovations, and maybe a recognized leader in imaging analytics and deep learning-assisted diagnostics.

But Werb accepts vRad separates itself by performing through a physician’s lens.

“We build our own technology platforms,” Werb says. “And we build them with physicians and for physicians. Everything we do is with them in mind.”

Getting the proper study to the proper radiologist at the proper time

Among the physician-driven technological advances pioneered by vRad may be a workflow system that automatically routes studies to the foremost appropriate subspecialty-trained radiologist.

It’s a part of vRad’s organizational drive to make sure that patients receive an equivalent standard of care wherever and whenever they have it.

“Practices (our clients) with access to our subspecialty trained radiologists offer their patients an equivalent level of care at 2 a.m. as they are doing at 2 p.m., whether or not they are in rural Wyoming or NY City,” Werb says.

When vRad was founded in 2001, it afforded only primary overnight reads. However, advances in technology and growing demands on radiology practices, like hospitals demanding subspecialty analysis 24 hours each day, have driven an alteration in its business model.

Today, vRad provides—daytime and nighttime—final radiology interpretations for half its clients, and quite 75 percent of its new clients.

“Our growth continues to be supported a growing consensus that teleradiology—and telemedicine in general—can not only deliver an equivalent or better patient care but roll in the hay at a lower cost,” Werb says.

A potentially life-saving innovation

The recent addition of vRad’s Live Video Diagnostics services puts subspecialty trained radiologists, performing from their home for vRad, in women’s imaging centers across the country through the utilization of the high-definition video. What’s more, these women’s imaging centers would normally struggle to draw in and retain top radiologists to serve their facilities.

Using the video connection, patients, clinicians and radiologists are ready to immediately discuss test results face-to-face and develop an idea for care. the moment counsel not only helps patients gain a comfort level with their care providers, but it also saves follow-up visits, which may be a big benefit in rural areas.

“Some of the worst survival rates for ladies diagnosed with carcinoma are in rural areas,” Werb explains. “With this personal access to a number of the simplest women’s imaging radiologists within the country, we believe we will make a potentially life-saving difference for ladies.”

Data analytics drive client solutions

As Werb and vRad look to the longer term, much of their focus is on the huge amounts of knowledge derived from their work with clients—from the character and number of studies to the time practices fancy turn them around.

They believe a far better understanding of the knowledge can cause greater efficiencies and simpler patient care.

“Our clients’ practice data contains information which will help them make more informed decisions about technology investments, staffing, service offerings and far more,” Werb says.

“We strive to be quite just a teleradiology provider to our clients. We specialize in offering solutions that advance their practice.”