PrimeImaging
Our History
About PrimeImaging
PrimeImaging is more than just the name of our diagnostic imaging centers servicing the Chattanooga and North Georgia area. It is a symbol of the leadership and innovation we bring to the world of radiology by our radiology group, Diagnostic Radiology Consultants, as well as our time-tested strength and endurance.
Our story began over sixty years ago as a radiology service to Hucheson Medical Center, then known as Tri County Hospital. Fast forward to 1992, Doctors Busch, Huntzinger, Nelson and Cureton contemplated a broader mission for the organization and named the group Diagnostic Radiology Consultants, now PrimeImaging. Over the last few decades, the team has expanded its services throughout the tri-state area.
Diagnostic Radiology Consultants (DRC) became the first private practice radiology group in Tennessee to provide PET services in 1999. The team worked vigorously with third-party payers, hospitals, and other physician groups to develop and expand this new and emerging technology. Other leading-edge imaging services DRC provided include the area's first body CT scanner, Digital Subtraction Angiography, Remote Digital Fluoro-radiography, 24-hour teleradiology, and a fully integrated Digital PACS imaging department.
Due to the growing demand for radiology services in the region, Diagnostic Radiology Consultants branched out to four locations starting in 2004 with Battlefield Imaging. That same year the group established Diagnostic PET/CT on the campus of Parkridge Hospital. In 2006, Tennessee Imaging and Vein Center on Gunbarrel Road was opened to the public. This was followed closely by the acquisition of the Chattanooga Outpatient Center on McCallie Avenue in 2008.
Recognizing the need to provide services for groups who had begun to offer their own imaging services, Diagnostic Radiology Consultants developed Specialty Networks in 2005. This innovative company provides image data management and storage services to clients, allowing the group to provide professional services and cost-effective alternatives to clients.
Diagnostic imaging has revolutionized the practice of medicine over the past twenty-five years. While patient history and physical exam remain at the foundation of medicine, current imaging procedures have dramatically improved the speed and accuracy with which many diseases and conditions are diagnosed. If an abnormality is detected using our advanced imaging tools, in many cases our physicians can offer procedures such as image-guided biopsies to reach a definitive diagnosis without the risks of general anesthesia.
“When we came up with the name PrimeImaging, we were thinking about what prime means, being the best and offering the highest quality and service. When patients come to us they are often under a lot of stress. One of the worst things about cancer, and other health issues, is the waiting. We’re sensitive to that. It’s our top priority to get patients appointments quickly and the accurate results back to them. That’s who we are as a local company.”