How Big is the Discrepancy? Evaluating Health Disparities in Radiology Practices in New Jersey

Purpose: To determine if a disproportionate number of radiologists practice in high-income versus low-income counties in New Jersey (NJ), identify which vulnerable populations are most in need of more radiologists, and discuss how these relative differences can ultimately influence health outcomes.

Methods/Materials: The NJ Health Care Profile, a database overseen and maintained by the Division of Consumer Affairs, was queried for all actively practicing radiologists within the state of NJ. These results were grouped into diagnostic and interventional radiologists followed by further stratification of physicians based on the counties where they currently practice. Median household income and population size of each county for 2021 was obtained from the U.S. Census database. The ratio of the population size of each county over the number of radiologists in that county was used as a surrogate marker for disparities in patient care within the state and was compared between counties grouped by levels of income.

Results: Of the 1,186 board certified radiologists actively practicing within the state of NJ, 86% are solely diagnostic radiologists and 14% are interventional radiologists. 44% of radiologists practice within counties that are within the top third of median household income in NJ, 25% practice within counties in the middle third, and 31% practice within counties in the bottom third.

Conclusions: There is a disproportionate number of radiologists practicing in high-income counties as opposed to lower-income counties. A contradiction to this trend is seen in three low-income counties: Essex, Camden, and Atlantic County; all of which exhibit low numbers of individuals per radiologist that rival those of high-income counties. This finding is a concrete measure of successful radiologist recruitment efforts within these counties during the past few years to combat the increased prevalence of disease and associated complications that historically marginalized communities tend to disproportionately exhibit. Other low-income counties should look to what Essex, Camden, and Atlantic County have done to increase radiologist recruitment to levels that rival those of high-income areas.