Jim Gray MD is a board-certified radiologist from Mississippi. He has been practicing for over a decade and has one of the most advanced physician-owned imaging centers. He started his career by going to Mississippi State University. Whilst there, he got two bachelor’s degrees, both in arts and science. Additionally, he also received his medical degree in Ohio and pursued a residency program in Mississippi. Ultimately, he finalized his education by completing a fellowship at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Outside of being a medical expert, Jim Gray MD is also an entrepreneur. After all, successfully running an imaging center for a prolonged period of time would be impossible without some business knowledge.

Are there any unique challenges in your industry?

Absolutely. When you operate in the field of business by creating a medical practice, you have to keep a good balance between running your venture and helping people. For example, I constantly have to brush up on my technical knowledge as I spend a lot of time working to improve my practice. So, while it is very useful to improve my knowledge of business, I still have to maintain my competency when it comes to the field of radiology. Regardless, I truly enjoy this challenge as it pushes me to achieve even higher levels of efficiency through multitasking. More importantly, by keeping my business successful, I can perpetuate high-quality patient care and provide my employees with enough work. 

Do you have any particular challenges that you personally address?

Well, I believe that the most important challenges that we have to figure out in modern radiology is the lack of proper tissue characterization and affordability. Fortunately, current research efforts are allowing us to push past the first challenge.

The second one, on the other hand, is not something that my practice alone can have an impact on. Instead, the policy makers and politicians have to get together and figure out ways to make healthcare more affordable. Right now, there are many patients that I personally know who are unable to get the proper treatment because of sky-high deductibles and noncoverage. As the economy gets better, however, I am assuming that this problem will be resolved as well. 

Have you ever been to Miami?

I have. I have actually been there more than once. From my experience, everyone who lives in this part of the world should probably go to Miami at least once. The reason why is that this city is one of the best metropolitan areas that the United States has to offer. Those who may not be interested in leisure travel can also benefit by getting engaged in one of the many lucrative markets that are profitable in Miami. Just look at the tourism and you will see a ton of potential. Medicine, for instance, is also quite forward-thinking there as well. 

Was it a business or pleasure trip?

Most of my trips to Miami have been for pleasure. I think that going there and having to do something related to work would be very difficult. Just consider all the distractions that are present, ranging from the beautiful weather to even nicer scenery and welcoming people. Regardless, if I had to go to Miami for work, I would gladly accept it. 

Would you come back?

Definitely! I am actually going to come back sooner than I expected as I intend to start planning my next trip relatively soon. Right now, my patient load is bigger than ever before as we just opened our door to more people. Regardless, after we go through the adjusting stage, I expect to see a lot of improvements in efficiency. So, I think that I will be able to visit Miami before the end of this year. If not, I will do my best to come in the first few months of 2020.

Where do you see yourself or your business in 5 years?

I hope to expand my business and hire more people. Right now, although we are operating at full capacity, we are only serving a fraction of the patients that truly need us. My intention is to relocate somewhere nearby and operate a facility where I would be able to increase our patient load. If that does not work, I will try to hire more workers and let them handle the new patients in another location that I would oversee remotely. Besides expansion, I plan to continue pursuing ways to help the profession advance. This includes everything from research to more classes of technical knowledge for myself. That way, people that come to me will be offered state-of-the-art resources mixed with competence. More importantly, I will prioritize the growth of radiology so that we can overcome current challenges from the industry.