Once considered a lucrative, low-stress specialty, radiologists' compensation is shrinking among the most rapidly of all specialties, causing many trainees to consider hunting for a new track, according to a report by the New York Times.
Some hospitals, like the Bronx's St. Barnabas Hospital, are laying off radiology residents as they outsource future jobs to teleradiology firms, according to the report. Medicare has cut radiology reimbursements six times since 2006 for a total of $6 billion as favor for the "test first, ask questions later" era wanes.
Still, radiologists who can find work make double that of primary physicians, fueled by the echoes of a diagnostic technology bubble that began in the 1980s as MRIs and CT scans multiplied in hospitals.
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Some hospitals, like the Bronx's St. Barnabas Hospital, are laying off radiology residents as they outsource future jobs to teleradiology firms, according to the report. Medicare has cut radiology reimbursements six times since 2006 for a total of $6 billion as favor for the "test first, ask questions later" era wanes.
Still, radiologists who can find work make double that of primary physicians, fueled by the echoes of a diagnostic technology bubble that began in the 1980s as MRIs and CT scans multiplied in hospitals.
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