RadNet had been discussing the possibility of working with Walmart for over a year. One of their leaders lives on the South Side of Chicago, and RSNA 2023 was an opportunity to meet and show what a potential partnership could look like, said Timothy Merchant, national director of scouting networks and strategy population health. Radiology company. Some of their leaders also visited RadNet locations in New York and came away “impressed” by the opportunity to improve access to images for Walmart shoppers and employees.
Merchant said the deal provides the opportunity to open more MammogramNow locations in other Walmart locations. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer currently operates more than 4,600 stores in the United States alone, employing 1.6 million associates.
“About 90% of Americans live within 10 miles of Walmart. So I think it gives us an opportunity to serve more rural communities,” Merchant said. “I know my family lives in one of those geographic areas and Walmart is kind of the epicenter of their whole community.”
RadNet and Walmart have also discussed expanding their services beyond mammography. Clinical Footprints provide the ability to add a scanner, allowing RadNet to also screen for lung cancer, particularly in communities with high smoking rates. One of the key indicators of success for the pilot program is attracting enough visits to cover the cost of the service.
“We also have to be very careful about tracking,” Merchant said. “These patients will fall directly under our standard protocol to ensure that when there is a result and if there is a recall, we are then able to direct the patient to the appropriate next steps. This will just be a screening location, so we’ll need to get them to a convenient secondary location for an ultrasound, breast MRI, or whatever the next step is.
The pilot is expected to last 18 months, with room for expansion before then. Merchant said RadNet selected the locations to test the model in different types of markets. Milford, Delaware, is a natural extension of existing services in the region, with another company outpost in nearby Dover. Phoenix, meanwhile, allows RadNet to test the service in an urban market, while Hanford offers a more rural alternative.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, RadNet bills itself as the nation’s “leading” provider of standalone, stationary diagnostic imaging services. It operates a total of 366 outpatient imaging centers, covering major markets including California, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Florida and Arizona.
