WHEN INNOVATION MEETS OPPORTUNITY: THE OIA STORY

“Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door.”  Those famous words, attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson, speak to how one great idea – a lightbulb moment – can launch an entire business empire.  About twenty-five years ago, Frank Kyle had such a light bulb moment.  By October 2000, Frank had already spent a decade developing and managing outpatient imaging centers.  He was among the entrepreneurial pioneers who helped move an entire services line, outpatient diagnostic imaging, from inside the hospital into high-quality, patient-friendly, off campus community settings.

Frank had just sold his most recent business and was between ventures when the Chair of Radiology at a prestigious academic medical center casually mentioned how valuable it would be to have someone like Frank on their side.  Eureka!  A spark of inspiration!  That simple, off-hand comment sparked the idea that soon after became Outpatient Imaging Affiliates, a first-of-its-kind, blue ocean type of business.  OIA was formed not to compete with hospitals but rather to partner with hospitals.  Frank’s goal was to combine his experience and operational expertise with the brand and reputation of local healthcare facilities to recapture lost market share and deliver superior patient care.

More than two decades later, OIA never wavered from that founding principle.  Today, OIA has grown to over 1,600 employees and operates nearly 60 outpatient imaging center locations, from coast to coast, partnered with some of the most prestigious names in healthcare.

OIA has established four new joint ventures in the past two years alone.  Today, we remain the only outpatient imaging operator in the United States whose primary business model is the joint-ventured development and management of outpatient imaging centers designed specifically to help provider organizations achieve their strategic goals.

While the services OIA provides have evolved over the past twenty-five years, the lessons Frank taught us remain the same.  “No surprises” I can still hear him say.  “Never forget, we work for the hospital,” he would remind us daily.

As OIA begins its next quarter century, we want to thank all of our current partners who have grown with us over the years.  We also want to invite any hospital, health system or academic medical center struggling with outpatient diagnostic imaging to reach out and let’s see if OIA can help you meet your goals as well.