Benjamin E. Northrup, MD, talks about the 2026 Practice Leadership Forum and how the event is important to both academic and private practice radiologists.
Radiology leaders from around the country gathered in Dallas for the 2026 ACR-RBMA Practice Leadership Forum (PLF). From Jan. 30 through Feb. 1, leaders in the field discussed numerous issues present in the specialty, such as AI, the workforce shortage and more, and exchanged ideas that they could bring back to their practices.
One of these leaders was Benjamin E. Northrup, MD, associate professor of radiology at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He discussed his takeaways with the Bulletin and shared his thoughts on why you should attend the 2027 event.
I had been interested in the PLF and the type of content it covers for some time, and my interest grew after hearing more about the meeting from Amy K. Patel, MD, chair of RADPAC® and the Radiology Advocacy Network. I work closely with Dr. Patel through the Missouri Radiological Society, and as a former member of the PLF Planning Committee, she was able to share insights about the Forum that really inspired me to attend.
Historically, the PLF has been viewed as more private-practice-focused. But over the years, due to factors including volume growth and consolidation, practice models in radiology have evolved. Many hospitals and academic systems have expanded into larger community networks, while private practice groups have also grown, consolidated, and become operationally more complex. Because of that, the leadership and operational challenges facing both groups are increasingly similar, which makes the PLF relevant to radiologists across practice settings.
What also interested me about this conference was its focus on workforce issues, which has been a topic of conversation at my institution. We are certainly not unique — many practices, both private and academic, are facing these challenges. The PLF brought together a diverse group of impressive leaders who helped us understand the driving forces behind these challenges, and what we can learn from the data from the ACR and the literature. This reinforced for me the extent of the problem and the importance of a data-driven approach.
One of the most valuable aspects of the Forum was the opportunity to interact directly with radiology business managers. Many physician leaders manage operational responsibilities alongside clinical practice, whereas these professionals are immersed in the operational side full time. Those conversations offered perspectives that many radiologists don’t routinely encounter at traditional meetings.
It was interesting to hear their concerns, discuss headwinds at their practices, and talk about differences between larger and smaller groups. I enjoyed learning how the business and practice managers in those groups approach challenges.
I was lucky enough to connect with members of our local Missouri chapter of the RBMA and have talked with colleagues at the Missouri Radiological Society about collaborating with them. It was nice to make those connections and potentially bring in some others who can help with and be a part of the growth of our chapter.
Both academic and private groups are trying to determine the best way to implement AI and make workflows more efficient. We are hoping that AI integration can indeed solve some of our workforce challenges or at least mitigate them to a degree.
Both academic and private practices are facing similar problems today. As many academic medical centers now have community groups serving smaller outlying hospitals and many private practice groups have grown large enough to offer subspecialty services at large hospitals, the traditional lines dividing academic and private practice have blurred. In many academic systems, including my own, the community group includes many working as general radiologists, which is traditionally thought of as more of a private practice role. By the same token, some private groups have consolidated and grown and now have structured their practice in a way that might be more reminiscent of the traditional academic model.
The symmetry in the challenges that we face makes this meeting just as relevant for academic radiologists. Number one is workforce challenges, which was a major focus of this conference. Both academic and private practice groups are facing issues surrounding high volumes and long turnaround times, as highlighted in a recent article from the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute®. How do we manage this? This problem is not unique to academics. Number two is AI integration. Both academic and private groups are trying to determine the best way to implement AI and make workflows more efficient. We are hoping that AI integration can indeed solve some of our workforce challenges or at least mitigate them to a degree, and several of the sessions gave attendees examples of how practices have solved longstanding problems with AI. Diving into topics like these makes this Forum relevant to all radiologists.
The academic mission can vary depending on where you trained and how your institution defines it, but in general it involves balancing several core responsibilities: clinical excellence, education, research and administrative leadership. Academic radiologists are often managing all of these simultaneously while also helping ensure their departments and institutions remain strong and sustainable. The traditional academic model holds teaching and research as the most prominent because that is what primarily separates academic radiology from private practice. But regardless of practice setting, everyone is striving for clinical excellence and working to maintain an efficient, sustainable practice environment.
What makes academic radiology unique is often the breadth of responsibilities and the need to move seamlessly between them throughout the day. At the same time, private practice radiologists face incredibly demanding clinical workloads and operational pressures of their own. In many ways, it becomes less about the practice setting and more about how one manages competing demands effectively.
What I found especially valuable about the PLF was the focus on navigating those transitions efficiently. How do you balance competing priorities? How do you improve workflow and integrate AI thoughtfully? How do you continue to find fulfillment in your work and avoid burnout? How do you incorporate these evolving technologies into resident education and training?
These are important questions facing radiology today, and hearing experts share practical strategies and real-world experiences was incredibly helpful.
When I attended, I brought one of our residents from Missouri[MS1.1][BN1.2], and she made a number of great connections there. That is one of the benefits of going to a conference like this: Being able to meet new people, even in those few minutes in between sessions, make connections and talk about questions that are on your mind.
For early- and mid-career physicians, the PLF is unique because the focus is on practice management, which is becoming increasingly more important for anyone in private or academic practice. Any of us that are not particularly close to retirement will be worried about issues such as burnout, how our specialty integrates AI, and how we deal with workforce headwinds and consolidation. The ACR Annual Meeting has sessions on these topics, which are very useful, but the PLF is an entire conference in an almost-small group setting that focuses on important issues such as these that are related to practice management. What makes the PLF unique is that it creates a focused environment for conversations that increasingly affect every radiologist — workforce pressures, operational complexity, AI integration and leadership development. Those are no longer niche concerns; they’re becoming central to how radiology practices function.
Interview by Alex Utano, associate editor, ACR Press
Discover why radiologists across practice settings return to the ACR-RBMA Practice Leadership Forum year after year. Explore upcoming sessions, faculty and registration details for the 2027 PLF from Jan. 15-17 in Orlando.
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