Hospitals Still Outnumber Imaging Centers but the Gap Is Closing

Diagnostic imaging centers continued their growth trajectory well into 2007, according to the latest Diagnostic Imaging Center Report from Verispan, Yardley, Pa. As of November 2007, Verispan had identified 6,414 freestanding diagnostic imaging centers in the United States, a 6.2% increase from the previous year. Though the number of imaging centers has increased by 54% since 2001, growth in the number of hospitals has remained relatively flat over the past six years, increasing from 6,855 in 2001 to 6,973 in 2007, narrowing the gap between the number of freestanding imaging center sites and hospital locations. In 2001, hospitals outnumbered imaging centers by 2,700 sites; by November 2007, hospitals had just 557 more sites than imaging centers. Though the national ratio of hospitals to imaging centers is nearly even, a much greater discrepancy exists on a state-by-state basis. Those states with the highest ratio of imaging centers to hospitals are primarily located in the Eastern regions of the country. To order the study, contact Scott Bogart at (215) 347-6927; scott.bogart@ verispan.com