vRad and Ramsay Diagnostics partnership first to bring U.S. remote radiology services to Russia
MINNEAPOLIS and MOSCOW — (June 10, 2014) vRad (Virtual Radiologic), the largest U.S. telemedicine company and radiology practice with over 450 physicians, and Ramsay Diagnostics, a network of imaging centers in St. Petersburg and Moscow, have announced they have signed an exclusive agreement with plans to increase their footprint across Russia. This partnership marks vRad’s first expansion into the Russian market. Ramsay Diagnostics was founded by Paul Ramsay who is the former chairman and founder of Ramsay Health Care, a global private hospital operator with 145 hospitals and clinics.
As part of the agreement, vRad will be Ramsay’s exclusive provider of second opinions to Russian patients seeking high-quality care. vRad will also collaborate with Ramsay’s Russian radiologists to establish and oversee a Peer Review program based on recommendations and guidelines from the American College of Radiology (ACR) and The Joint Commission. With the increasing demands for radiologists to demonstrate value and quality, the vRad Peer Review program will free up Ramsay radiologists to focus on caring for patients rather than the administrative challenges of managing such a program. The program uses a community-care approach to peer review, providing unbiased, objective reviews and analysis in a collaborative, learning environment that benefits Ramsay’s radiologists and leverages vRad’s experience reading over 7 million studies annually.
“The vRad partnership for second opinions allows us to provide an increased level of quality to an expanding population of patients currently underserved because of radiologist and equipment shortages at public hospitals,” said Alex Ledovskiy, Managing Director of Ramsay Diagnostics, Russia. “We are confident vRad can support us as we scale up operations and open additional imaging centers throughout Russia to meet the needs of our patients. In addition, having proven Peer Review metrics from vRad will help demonstrate Ramsay’s commitment to clinical transparency as we grow to become the leader of quality diagnostic care in the Russian market.”
A 2012 Frost & Sullivan report identified that the increasing demand for medical imaging service is one of the “megatrends” in Russia in the next 10 years. In Russia, medical imaging services are mostly located in public hospitals and are focused on hospitalized patients. As a result, there is a long waitlist for outpatients. For the last few years, a state healthcare modernization program has led to a sufficient increase in MRI and CT scanners in public hospitals and clinics. However, there is a lack of well-trained radiologists, training and quality assurance programs, as well as problems with technical maintenance. All of these issues lead to medical risks and the need for quality programs for provided services. Ramsay Diagnostics is offering a range of improved imaging services that increase access to state-of-the-art technology and subspecialty care to benefit patients on an outpatient basis.
“As the largest national radiology practice in the United States, we have the scale and the obligation to advance the global practice of telemedicine,” said Jim Burke, President and CEO of vRad. “Our agreement with Ramsay Diagnostics reinforces our global strategy of aligning with growth-oriented partners with clinical and local market expertise. Together, we can provide quality care to our patient communities faster and more efficiently.”
About vRad
vRad (Virtual Radiologic) is a global telemedicine company and the nation’s largest radiology practice with over 450 physicians. Our patented software, data, and clinical processes allow referring physicians to quickly and securely pass patient imaging and information to specialists in order to improve the speed, accuracy, and cost of clinical diagnosis. vRad’s physicians and operational platform serve 2,000+ hospitals, reading over 7 million patient radiology reports annually. vRad is also a leader in healthcare informatics: its RPCSM (Radiology Patient Care) Indices are the first findings-based national and peer group benchmarking metrics for the use of radiology imaging. Our analytics platform includes over 24 million imaging studies, growing at 600,000 per month. vRad’s clinical expertise and evidence-based insight help clients make better decisions for the health of their patients and their practices. For more information about the Company, including vRad’s recent 2014 Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Award, visit www.vrad.com. For real-time updates, follow us on Twitter (@vRad), or “like” us on Facebook.
About Ramsay Diagnostics, Russia
Ramsay Diagnostics imaging centers in St. Petersburg and Moscow are staffed by leading MD and PhD specialists of the highest caliber. Its physicians come from large multidisciplinary medical organizations and federal research institutes. All employees are constantly improving in their areas of expertise. Its radiologists have further specialization in a certain fields of radiology including neuroradiology, abdominal diagnosis, musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
Ramsay Diagnostics was founded under patronage of Paul Ramsay AO, businessman and philanthropist whose main ambition in life was helping people. Ramsay Diagnostics use principles that Paul Ramsay AO established across his healthcare business and other businesses that he was involved with. For more information about the Company, visit www.ramsaydiagnostics.ru.