Plano-based healthcare technology and services company CIVIE has launched RadPod, an AI-driven, on-demand radiology platform designed to transform how, when, and where radiologists work.

“Radiology as a whole has been facing brutal challenges for the past couple of decades,” CEO Dhruv Chopra said in a statement. “Radiologists don’t want to be bound by shifts and schedules or hindered by inefficiencies like technology gaps and unclear requirements from referring physicians. By bringing together our decades of radiology experience, CIVIE delivers what radiologists have been craving: a state-of-the-art solution that allows them to read medical scans at will and on their terms.”

The company said RadPod was developed to align the interests of radiologists, hospital systems, and the latest in healthcare technology to ensure the practice of radiology is “a win-win-win proposition for all.” Powered by CIVIE’s “cutting-edge” AI technology, the company said radiologists can read and interpret medical imaging scans from anywhere, anytime, and be compensated in real time for their work.

How it works

CIVIE told Dallas Innovates that healthcare systems contract with RadPod to have their medical images, or studies, interpreted within set service level agreements. “For example, stroke CT scans must be read in eight minutes,” the company said. “The RadPod team alerts its radiology community that a study is available and needs to be read. Radiologists can then jump into the worklist and read the study, if they are available and want to do so. They get paid instantly, and the report is provided back to the healthcare system so patient care can be delivered efficiently.”

The company said RadPod has already has been deployed to eight Illinois hospitals, and CIVIE has been invited to render its solutions to additional healthcare systems in Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

Founded in 2018, CIVIE currently has around 65 employees in Texas and approximately 300 employees globally, the company added.

RadPod features

RadPod platform. [Image: CIVIE]

RadPod’s AI-empowered solutions are designed to boost efficiency and remove the clerical work that takes radiologists away from the practice of medicine. the company said. RadPod integrates advanced AI tools not to replace radiologists, but to optimize workflow and scale service delivery to ensure personal care and high-quality interpretations. CIVIE said.

Radiologists keep 100% of what they earn through RadPod with no middlemen or fees, CIVIE said.

The platform’s features include:

• AI-Powered Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS)
• Real-Time Voice Recognition
• Instant Payment System
• Custom Worklists & Smart Prioritization
• Seamless Web-Based Access
• Automated Quality Assurance

CIVIE said its platform “has the nuances built in” for hospitals, particular studies, and even referring physician preferences, so all parties get exactly what they need when they need it. In addition, “all the credentialing, licensure, etc. is provided by the RadPod platform, so radiologists can focus on patient care.”

In addition, CIVIE;s IT team manages the platform interfaces and workflow, leaving “minimal requirements” for participating hospitals. CIVIE has been able to get a hospital up and running with its solutions within seven days, “which is unheard of in our industry,” the company said.

Benefits to users

CIVIE CEO Dhruv Chopra

“Our radiologists earn some of the highest rates in the industry, with the freedom to access their earnings whenever they choose,” Chopra said. “Whether it’s end-of-day or instantly after a read, funds are delivered quickly—because they have earned it. The ability to read from home, get paid on time, and get paid based on productivity are all factors that resonate strongly with radiologists today.”

“Looking at radiology in a new way and working collaboratively to address the real needs of radiologists has been needed for a long time in this industry. It has been a dream to bring this to life, and I truly believe this will be amongst the biggest game-changers ever to hit the radiology space,” Chopra added.

A RadPod user said the platform has plenty to offer radiologists.

“Having been in radiology practices for over 20 years, RadPod is putting what today’s radiologists want front and center—ease of access to studies, flexible participation, an intuitive PACS and dictation solution, and more money directly to radiologists,” Eric Davis, M.D., a radiologist participating with RadPod, said in a statement provided by CIVIE. “It can remove barriers confining radiologists to the way things were done and give them freedom to practice radiology in modern ways that suit their experience.”

CIVIE CFO Preeth Hegde, right, at the recent annual meeting of the Radiology Business Management Association. [Photo: CIVIE/LinkedIn]

CIVIE said the solution caters to hospitals, outpatient imaging centers, and physician offices, offering both onsite and remote coverage 24/7 across all specialties. 

Funding from WindRose Health Investors

In March, CIVIE entered into a strategic partnership with New York-based Windrose Health Investors designed to facilitate the growth of CIVIE’s technology solutions and market presence, the company told Dallas Innovates.

The company didn’t disclose the investment amount, but said “we can confirm CIVIE has executed a transaction with Windrose that will allow us to continue investing in technology and proprietary AI initiatives to deliver innovative solutions and services.”

Those services include an expanded presence in North Texas.

CIVIE said it already has clients based in Plano that are using the company’s Revenue Cycle Management (RCM), Radiology Information System (RIS), Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS), and voice recognition solutions.

One of the company’s largest clients, Texas Radiology Associates, is based in Plano, and CIVIE provides services to many standalone imaging centers across Dallas-Fort Worth.

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