Examine | Teleradiology: Introducing Shehnaz Pancholi

Shehnaz Pancholi is your typical working mother – always on the go and a tad sleep-deprived. In fact, Pancholi admits that a typical weekday entails waking up at 6:30 a.m., working an 11-hour day, putting on her “mommy hat” and cooking dinner/cleaning for her young family and, finally, retiring to bed at around midnight.

But, three simple letters attributed to Pancholi’s name separate her from the vast majority of other mothers: C-E-O. As the founder and CEO of Roanoke, Va.-based Teleradiology America (TA) and Pediatric Radiology of America (PRA), Pancholi has certainly made a name for herself in the teleradiology domain.

And, adding to her acclaim, she distinguishes herself as the teleradiology industry’s only female CEO – an accomplishment that hasn’t gone unnoticed in the imaging community.

Living the Dream

As an immigrant to the United States, Pancholi is well aware that achieving success requires a strong worth ethic and willingness to overcome adversity. Fortunately, Pancholi presents with a long history of professional competency and proficiency.

This industry veteran first achieved success in the teleradiology sector at PanBill Inc., a software development company specializing in telemedicine and HIPAA consulting. Initially hired at PanBill as director of sales and business development, Pancholi soon rose through the company ranks and was promoted to director of operations.

In 2003, Pancholi left PanBill to take a position at American Teleradiology Network (ATN), where she served as director/vice president of sales. There, Pancholi assumed responsibility for organizing and training the sales team. And, the influx in ATN’s profits spoke volumes about Pancholi’s efforts: Within two years, ATN experienced a 500 percent increase in revenue.

According to Rashid Taher, MD, strategic advisor and member of the board of directors for TA, “[Pancholi] also was pivotal in building the credentialing and licensing team, which accelerated the start of clients’ services after the initial sales closing.”

But, it wasn’t until Nighthawk Radiology Services acquired ATN that Pancholi’s vision came into full effect. Upon the acquisition, Pancholi recognized that the teleradiology industry could benefit from the creation of a company that specialized in pediatrics, an essentially untapped market at that time.

“Although I was excited by [ATN and Nighthawk’s] merger,” Pancholi says, “I felt that there were aspects of our first experience in teleradiology that could have been improved upon. With the cumulative lessons at ATN, and with a core team of professionals, I decided to launch Teleradiology America and Pediatric Radiology of America.” Today, as CEO of TA/PRA, the only company addressing both pediatric and adult teleradiology, Pancholi is certainly enjoying the fruits of her labor.

According to Pancholi, TA/PRA’s mission is to remain on the cutting edge of teleradiology and stay abreast of the constantly changing innovations in the industry. Also, she says, “I would like to make TA/PRA synonymous with reliability and excellence in healthcare.”

Taher believes Pancholi’s success at TA/PRA is partly attributable to her employees, who, he says, are dedicated to the growth of the company. The radiologists that join the team are not only employees, but also become owners of the company, via stock options, he says. “[Pancholi] understands the need for both the management and physicians to take pride in the continued growth of their company,” Taher says.

Another manifestation of Pancholi’s commitment to her career: her focus on education. Having pursued her master’s degree in nursing and nearly completed a fast-track program at Weston, Mass.-based Regis College to become a pediatric nurse practitioner, Pancholi aspires to develop a greater understanding of the healthcare field.

Still, despite her educational pursuits, Pancholi credits launching PRA as a subspecialty division of TA as her most significant accomplishment to date. And, she admits, the fact that she has been able to identify the imminent crisis within pediatric radiology and create a company to anticipate the shortage has been very rewarding. “In fact,” she says, “it’s a dream come true, since my interest and education has been in pediatrics. It’s a birth of a new venture in a niche market.”

Pancholi says observing the teleradiology market’s progression in the past two years has also been extremely gratifying. In addition, she credits teleradiology’s ability to provide high-quality remote imaging services to those in underserved and rural areas as its greatest benefit.

But, Pancholi also has her gripes about the industry, citing the potentially negative connotations of the term “teleradiology.” “That is the reason that we at TA and PRA strive to maintain a highly personalized service with good quality assurance process/protocols set in place by radiologists,” she says. “We understand that the term is derived to mean ‘remote patient care,’ and we try our best to work toward that goal.”

The Rise of Subspecialty Radiology

When it comes to market trends, Pancholi is seeing the teleradiology industry move in the direction of subspecialties. She says, “The fast rate at which the teleradiology market is maturing brings on the next rising wave of need to cater to individual subspecialty services and generating final reports – related to subspecialties.”

For instance, Pancholi believes the teleradiology field is experiencing increased demand for fellowship-trained and subspecialty radiologists. Some key specialties that Pancholi says will impact the teleradiology market include neurology, musculoskeletal imaging and pediatrics. Fortunately, PRA has the pediatric market covered.

“[At PRA], we try to give quality care to facilities by routing images to doctors with individual subspecialties on an [as-needed] basis,” Pancholi says. “That is also what led us to incorporate our subspecialty division within PRA; this compensates for the growing need within neonatal/obstetrics.”

Pancholi also cites the advent of advanced imaging technology, such as 64-slice CT, as potentially affecting the industry. “The introduction of 64-slice CT is [leading] cardiologists to consider the option of transmitting reports to be read remotely,” she says. “This could offset a new wave of cardiologists who are known to belong to a more conservative setting to blend in and work effectively with radiologists who are cardiac CT readers.”

At the Helm

Maintaining balance in her busy life is certainly no easy task for Pancholi, but she has been fortunate to surround herself with a strong support system. She especially credits her parents’ blessing, along with her husband, Paras Pancholi, CEO of PanTeq Communications and co-founder/CTO of TA/PRA, and two children, Aatik and Nasheeta, with her success, saying, “My family has been very supportive of my endeavors. [They are] my love, and creating the best teleradiology company is my passion. I am also very fortunate to have a good team in place to support our fast-paced growth.”

With her family as her No. 1 priority, Pancholi devotes the remainder of her time to TA/PRA. And, her goals for the company are as lofty and ambitious as the ones she has for herself. As TA/PRA grows, Pancholi aspires to create a work-study program for student entrepreneurs that will teach them about the various facets of telemedicine. “To be able to impart knowledge and experience to future generations of CEOs is something I aspire to do,” she says.

And Pancholi has some simple words of wisdom for individuals aspiring to become industry CEOs: “My advice, not only to women, but anyone striving for success, is to focus on education. No matter what discipline [you] choose, learning how to be a good communicator – both written and oral – is fundamental to being an effective leader.”

She also believes that it’s important for people to listen to criticism. “No matter how successful [you] become, I would emphasize the need to listen to [your] critics – they’re telling you what your friends may want to [say], but don’t,” she says.

Still, Pancholi remains thankful for the opportunities that living in America has provided her. “I came to the United States from a society that does not easily recognize the role of women in business. As a woman and mother, I am constantly challenging myself by taking a leadership role within the medical and business communities. I want to be a role model for my daughter and other women; I want them to know that America is a land where dreams come true.”

— Keri Forsythe is associate editor of RT Image. Questions and comments can be directed to kforsythe@rt-image.com.