The ACR-RBMA Workforce Survey tackles how practices are managing rising demand as ownership, technology and work environment drive rapid change.
From the Chair of the Board of Chancellors
How many radiology practices use remote staffing overnight? Is my group keeping up on implementing AI? Does offering an ownership-track give my group a competitive advantage in hiring job candidates?
As the chair of the ACR’s Human Resources Commission, I receive questions like these frequently. One primary source of information to answer members’ questions is the ACR-RMBA Workforce Survey. The ACR began conducting the annual survey in 2012, joining forces with the RBMA in 2021. The 2026 results are now available, with answers to these questions and many more.
First, thank you to those who responded to the survey earlier this year. Your participation allows us to provide information that members find both informative and strategically valuable in running their departments and groups. The survey offers a window into how practices are responding to growing demand, where workforce pressures are most acute and what those changes could mean for the future delivery of imaging care.
The real value of the Workforce Survey is that it can turn national workforce data into practical context for making decisions our own practices face. It provides a benchmark for understanding how a local practice’s experience compares with the broader radiology community. Practice leaders report that the survey supplies environmental data that informs staffing, recruitment, strategic planning and advocacy decisions. In addition, the latest information about the national radiology landscape can empower radiologists negotiating with hospital administrators who are not as equally informed.
The real value of the Workforce Survey is that it can turn national workforce data into practical context for making decisions our own practices face.
The 2026 survey results were revealing. I found this year’s information on remote radiology work, successful incorporation of AI and ownership trends to be of particular interest. Comparing results to findings from previous years helps identify trends and suggests where our profession is heading.
What would you say if I told you that 36% of radiologists work remotely? And that 44% of radiologists would like to work remotely in the future? A correct answer would be, “you’re wrong!” That’s because those figures are from the 2021 ACR-RBMA Workforce Survey. By 2026, the percentage of radiologists working remotely (at least some of the time) has more than doubled to 74%. The data not only documents that remote work has grown immensely; it also reveals that far more radiologists work remotely now than they ever imagined they would want to just five years ago. What was considered a desirable but potentially difficult to achieve concept has already become a fundamental aspect of radiology — and even an expectation of jobseekers and medical students choosing radiology as a career. Clearly, remote work has become a standard part of the specialty and has already begun to transform the way we work now and in the future.
Equally interesting — in 2021, academic practices had the most radiologists (36%) working remotely. Today, we see quite different numbers. Half (48%) of academic radiologists work at least some daytime shifts remotely, and even more cover some or all their evening (63%) and weekend (60%) shifts remotely. Remote coverage has become the norm for overnight work — with 88% of private practices and 52% of hospital-employed radiologists using exclusively offsite radiologists for these shifts. In contrast, interestingly, academic practices have only 30% of overnight shifts that are covered fully remotely — far less common than seen with private practices or hospital-employed practices. It is possible that hospital and academic practices interested in moving their overnight shifts to remote coverage may find this survey data valuable in reassuring resistant administrators that private practices have almost universally adopted this workflow successfully.
Chatter around AI and the future of radiologists has persisted for years — with no substance regarding AI replacing humans in healthcare. In fact, the 2026 survey reveals that 89% of radiology practices use AI. To be clear, non-interpretive AI is far more commonly used by radiologists and practices than interpretive AI. The type of non-interpretive AI most widely implemented and used by radiologists is auto-impression generating dictation systems — now used by approximately one-half of radiologists.
There are more details on these and other important workforce topics in the new survey. A few additional data points that caught my attention:
Moving forward in 2027, we will continue to identify and provide longitudinally informative and strategically essential information for ACR members. We will strive to update the survey questions to accurately reflect today’s dynamic radiology market. Specifically, we anticipate next year’s survey will take a deeper dive into evolving trends identified in this year’s survey, including remote reading and independent contracting.
I hope you enjoy and benefit from the 2026 ACR-RBMA Workforce Survey. Please share your thoughts and ideas with me, and don’t forget to fill out the 2027 Workforce Survey when you receive it early in the new year!
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