Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer, RADNET INC
Radnet CEO Howard Berger goes one-on-one with Jim Cramer
Radnet CEO Howard Berger joins 'Mad Money' host Jim Cramer to talk health care equipment, quarterly results and more.
About Howard Berger
Howard Berger, chairman, president, and CEO of RadNet, has discussed the company's expansion into new markets and its focus on using technology to address workforce shortages in radiology. In September 2024, Berger told CNBC's Jim Cramer that RadNet's growth is driven by the overall growth of the imaging industry and a shift of imaging services away from higher-cost hospital settings. He highlighted the company's pilot project with Walmart in Delaware aimed at increasing breast cancer screening access and convenience, and announced a similar pilot project in Phoenix, Arizona. Berger also discussed the use of artificial intelligence to aid radiologists in detecting prostate cancer and the role of MRI scans in monitoring patients on new Alzheimer's drugs. In a December 2024 interview, Berger stated that the biggest challenge in healthcare is workforce availability, particularly in radiology, and that the future of the field requires moving away from manual processes and using technology to improve workflow. He described imaging as the forerunner for earlier disease detection and population health management. Separately, in a 2023 testimony, Berger spoke about his personal experience living with Parkinson's disease, describing his approach to managing the condition through exercise and diethol.
Transcript (13 segments)
J
Jim Cramer0:09
You see a stock like RadNet, a diagnostic imaging company with 366 locations across seven states, soaring 17%. This was actually gettable. We had the CEO of RadNet on in October. I recommended buying the darn thing. I hope you listened. The stock is now rolling from 29 to 44 since then. I mean, you think RadNet — in reality they reported terrific top and bottom line beat with a healthy forecast. Wall Street has left this one up. Let's take a close look with Dr. Howard Berger, the CEO of RadNet. Welcome back to Mad Money.
H
Howard Berger0:52
Thank you, Jim.
J
Jim Cramer0:53
Dr. Berger, you traced out this wonderful thesis that the payers would prefer to chip scans out of the hospitals to your kind of company. I guess it is accelerating because these numbers are nothing short of amazing.
H
Howard Berger1:12
I think it is a combination, Jim, of not only that, but just the overall growth in the imaging industry as people recognize the value that imaging plays in early detection and ultimately a better outcome in their health. So, because we deal with elective procedures, the average person is going to make their way into our office, simply with the growth that occurs as the population increases and as people age. They need more and more imaging. What has been added now is the transition away from the higher cost hospital settings as well as the new technology, such as PET CT scanning for better diagnostic evaluation of prostate cancer, which has allowed us to accelerate this very useful tool for earlier detection and precision detection.
J
Jim Cramer2:19
A good example of that is mammography now, breast screening service inside Walmart. That's where people can go and that is a great place. People can get detection by going to Walmart.
H
Howard Berger2:35
Well, we think not only will that be more convenient for patients, but there is perhaps one third of the female population that should be getting routine breast screening who are not, for a variety of reasons. Many of which is, it's inconvenient to find a place that is comfortable for them to go, or a lack of education. So, the program at Walmart in our first pilot project in Delaware was really to try to tap into better education and convenience that will hopefully make that one third of the patients that should be getting screening exams more accessible and more comfortable with it. That, along with the fact that even though annual screening is advised, women are not often getting that. So, if you can do it at the place where they are going on a regular basis to begin with, then it should provide us with a better opportunity to enhance breast cancer detection. I'm pleased with the early results that the pilot project in Delaware has done, and I'm happy to announce, I believe later this month we are going to be implementing a pilot project in Phoenix, Arizona, also.
J
Jim Cramer4:02
Excellent. You mentioned prostate. The standard of care has been very invasive and can cause infections and in some cases leading to very difficult complications. But there is becoming a new standard of care that is involving what you mentioned, to use contrast MRIs, not invasive, and apparently just as good, if not better at spotting cancer.
H
Howard Berger4:26
Well, particularly if you aid the radiologist with some of the artificial intelligence that we have developed, or has been developed, and which we own a company that does, to be able to identify more accurately and make the radiologist more efficient and confident in their diagnosis. While it doesn't always eliminate the biopsy, which is necessary to get with a pathology report and to help better determine what the next step should be, what we are really looking at is trying to avoid the biopsies on those patients that really didn't need it, that might have been done blindly just because they had an elevated PSA. So, the standard of care now is very rapidly becoming a screening or diagnostic prostate MRI scan.
J
Jim Cramer5:27
I think that is incredible because some people felt it was wasteful, too. The system is increasingly to inspect. We are about to have a new Alzheimer's dementia drug. It will be approved by Biogen. Without your screening, it's possible everyone in the world would demand these treatments. We can do that. You are talking about four MRI screenings that may — who should be eligible for these.
H
Howard Berger5:58
The MRI scan actually is done after a patient has been determined appropriate to be on a trial of the new drugs. The current one that is most talked about is Leqembi, but once you do the PET CT scan or PET MRI scan to determine whether or not they are a candidate for the new drugs, then for follow-up treatment, because of the side effects that these drugs can cause, which include changes occurring in the brain, we use the MRI for detection to avoid complications where the cure might be worse than the disease. So, the MRI volume as a result of more and more of these patients being diagnosed as eligible candidates for the drug will have to be followed up by routine MRI scanning on a pretty regular basis.
J
Jim Cramer7:05
No one wants to have to say this, sir. I think you are in one of the best positions to try to keep healthcare costs down and also get the patient to the kind of help they need. Dr. Howard Berger, the president and CEO. Thank you for coming on the show.
H
Howard Berger7:25
Jim, thanks for having me. Hopefully next time we can do it in person.
J
Jim Cramer7:31
I hope so. What a stock. Dr. Berger, he started with one of our viewers who talked about this idea. We will be right back after the break.