Medality is Transforming Continuing Education for Clinicians

For health care professionals, education doesn’t stop after school or even after residency. Clinicians continue their studies throughout their careers, and the field of radiology is no exception. To meet the growing demand for skilled radiologists in the midst of a global shortage, Cincinnati startup Medality has developed an online platform dedicated to helping practicing radiologists advance their knowledge of the field.

“Medality is a practice development platform helping clinicians continue to learn and thrive in radiology,” CEO and co-founder Daniel Arnold said. “We reach over 40,000 radiologists around the world each month, and they rely on us to learn new subspecialties. Since we started, our scope has expanded from one knee MRI course to hundreds of courses taught by the top minds in radiology, from some of the best academic institutions in the country.”

The original idea was to film lectures for practicing radiologists at Medality’s Cincinnati studio, featuring experts in the field. But the onset of the pandemic prevented the startup from hosting those lessons. After a few short months, the company pivoted in early 2020 to focus on providing filmed lectures for those in residency programs who were missing out on in-person learning.

“During the pandemic, we started noon conferences, which were free radiology lectures streamed every day at noon to help teaching hospitals fill a gap they had in their in-person training,” Arnold said. “We did the first five lectures, and thousands joined in our first week. It gave us a new way to create content remotely, and since then, we’ve had over 300 lecturers give a noon conference.”

Medality now provides a vast variety of courses, both for the experienced clinician and those in residency. The platform even offers more than just straightforward lectures. Users can participate in a remote fellowship, which simulates the experience of training side-by-side with an attending physician.

“Radiologists assess images and then create a report to describe their findings,” he said. “During residency, students do these reports with an attending and receive feedback. For years, you’re getting a close apprenticeship, and then you’re on your own. In our remote fellowships, professionals take a look at real cases, generate reports, and have their work reviewed by our subspecialist teachers. That personalized feedback can help people improve and gain confidence to sign off on their reports in the real world.”

For Arnold and his team, Medality’s goal is to make a positive impact in the world of medicine and help as many patients as possible through its platform. As the startup continues to expand its courses, with plans for future offerings outside of radiology, Arnold has found that Cincinnati has always been the perfect home to make an impact in health care.

“Cincinnati is a very supportive ecosystem,” he said. “Everyone wants to see each other succeed. I’ve met a number of mentors through Cintrifuse and The Brandery who have helped our trajectory, and the cost of doing business here is really low. That’s important for companies like ours in a niche industry, and it’s been phenomenal to tap into that and the network available here.”