Interventional Radiology is facing an identity crisis. In this episode, Dr. Kumar Madassery, MD shares what it took to establish one of the few independent IR departments in the country and why economic realities, training pathways, and hospital politics make that fight so complex.
He discusses the struggle between diagnostic and procedural work, how reimbursement models undervalue complex interventions, why young physicians are drawn to IR despite the challenges, and how AI could both threaten and strengthen the specialty.
🎧 If you’ve wondered whether radiology could disappear in the age of AI, and what that means for interventionalists, this conversation is for you.
3:31 How long until AI takes away your job?
05:10 The origins of IR and a 60-year struggle for identity
07:20 The economic dilemma: imaging revenue vs. complex procedures
09:42 Integrated residency and why integrated residencies are essential to producing clinically grounded IR physicians.
13:12 Contracts that push new IRs back into diagnostic work
19:19 Subspecialization as the future of Interventional Radiology
20:33 Will AI erase diagnostic radiology, or make IR stronger?
25:19 What it took to build an independent IR department at Rush
31:28 Outpatient models, private equity, and the next frontier for IR
49:41 Why staying in a toxic job isn’t worth it
💡 Who Should Listen
This episode is for interventional radiologists, vascular surgeons, cardiologists, hospital administrators, medical students, and anyone interested in how economics, training, and AI are reshaping procedural medicine.
About Dr. Kumar Madassery
Dr. Kumar Madassery is Associate Professor of Vascular Interventional Radiology, Director of Peripheral Vascular Interventions and the CLTI Limb Preservation Program at Rush University Medical Center, and practices at Rush Oak Park Wound Care Center.
Connect with Dr.Madassery
🐦 X: @kmadass
📲 Profile: Sreekumar Madassery, MD
💼 LinkedIn: Kumar Madassery
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🐦 X: @VascularPodcast
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