Though I am relatively healthy, over the course of my life I have visited many physicians for one ailment or another, and never has one of them said, “Take two aspirin and call me in the morning.”

Nevertheless, there is a reason why that phrase serves as a punch line to a lot of old doctor jokes. For many years, the treatment options that physicians had to offer their patients were limited. Telling patients to take two aspirin was simply a coded way of saying that the doctor had no procedure or test at his or her disposal that was likely to do the patient any good.

How times have changed. In the last 20 years, medicine has made enormous strides and the number of procedures, tests, and pharmaceutical therapies available has grown exponentially. To cite one example, three decades ago there were only some 3,000 prescription drugs on the market. Today, doctors can prescribe over 10,000 prescription drugs to help patients with a wide range of physical and emotional maladies.

Another medical field in which tremendous progress has been made is diagnostic imaging. It was not that long ago that a “diagnostic image” equated to an x-ray. Today, there is a wide range of diagnostic imaging “modalities,” including x-ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound, PET, nuclear medicine and others. When a patient today complains of a headache, stomach cramps, heart problems, or a backache, doctors can do much more than prescribe two aspirin. Typically, what they can and will do is order some type of image to be taken of the organ or system in question. Indeed, practically nothing in medicine happens today without a picture. Both diagnosis and many types of surgical procedures are now dependent on diagnostic images to reveal what is happening inside the body.

Imaging procedures on the rise
It’s no surprise that the number of diagnostic imaging procedures continues to rise. According to research firm Arlington Medical Resources (AMR), the number of x-ray procedures increased by 22% from 2000 to 2004, while CT procedures increased by 62%, MRI procedures increased by 60% and ultrasound procedures increased by 32%.

Technology offers great benefits, but it is useless without qualified people to operate it. The trained professionals who operate various diagnostic imaging machines, including x-ray machines, CT and the other modalities mentioned above, are called “imaging technologists.” They are the ones who position the patient properly on the machines and take the pictures so crucial to effective diagnosis, surgery, and treatment. Though perhaps not as conspicuous as nurses, they, too, are on the front lines of health care and are a key part of today’s healthcare professional team.

Imaging staffing trends
Just like nurses, imaging technologists are in great demand, both on a permanent and temporary basis. Med Travelers, a staffing firm affiliated with Merritt, Hawkins & Associates, recently completed its annual survey of imaging technologist staffing trends. Over 40 percent of hospitals surveyed had used temporary imaging technologists in the last 12 months to help supplement their permanent staffs, indicating that many hospitals do not have sufficient technologists to handle all of their needs (please email if you would like a copy of Med Travelers’ survey.) Imaging technologists in most demand, the survey shows, are the ones who are trained in the more complex modalities, including ultrasound/vascular and interventional modalities, which are used in the diagnosis and treatment of heart and vascular ailments.

Radiologists in demand
Once pictures are taken, they are then interpreted by radiologists. Radiologists also are in considerable demand. In Merritt, Hawkins & Associates’ most recent survey, radiologists were fourth on the list of physicians most requested by our clients. Only family physicians, general internists, and “hospitalists” (doctors specializing in in-patient hospital care) were in greater demand.

In coming years, the use of diagnostic imaging is likely to accelerate because the technology is becoming more advanced and making possible a range of “non-invasive” procedures. For example, virtual colonoscopy now allows physicians to check for cancerous growths in the intestine without the discomfort associated with traditional, invasive colonoscopy.

Patients and physicians both are embracing this technology, which promises to become more varied and effective in the future. In fact, the use of diagnostic imaging has become so common it may be time to modify the old doctor catch phrase to, “I’ll take two images and call you in the morning.”

Kurt Mosley is vice president for business development for Merritt, Hawkins & Associates, a national physician search firm and a division of AMN Healthcare. He can be reached at kmosley@mhagroup.com.