The radiology space continues to face practitioner shortages that are contributing towards burnout and bottlenecks globally.
A 2023 report by the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) found that the UK currently has a 30% shortfall in radiologists that is forecast to rise to 40% by 2028 unless meaningful action is taken, with seven in 10 clinical directors stating there were not enough radiologists to deliver safe and effective levels of patient care. Another report by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) forecasts that the radiologist shortfall in the US could reach almost 42,000 by 2036.
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Meanwhile, a new report from the RCR, published in May 2026, found that the UK National Health Service (NHS) spent £241m ($324.5m) on outsourced radiology reads in 2025, indicative of a 12% increase on 2024.
With the time it takes to train radiologists in the UK and the US, along with growing retirement rates among radiologists, this issue does not appear to be going away anytime soon.
In this episode, Medical Device Network spoke with RevealDx CEO Chris Wood on the implications of the RCR’s findings and what they could mean for radiologists in the US as the industry faces burnout and shortages, along with other topics including the role AI has to play in supporting the radiology space.
Listen to the full episode below:
