What We’re Hearing Before RSNA: 3 Themes Shaping Reporting Decisions

RSNA is always a place to see what’s new. But for many radiology organizations heading into this year’s meeting, the focus has shifted from “What’s new?” to “What’s right for us?”

Over the past few months, the Rad AI team has been hearing increasingly specific questions from radiology leaders evaluating reporting technology, from workflow fit and integration to migration and what actually differentiates one platform from another. These insights offer a useful starting point for organizations preparing to evaluate reporting solutions at RSNA.

Here are three themes we’re hearing ahead of RSNA 2026.

A Platform Transition Is Becoming an Opportunity to Rethink the Workflow

For some organizations, upcoming reporting platform changes are creating a natural moment to evaluate alternatives rather than automatically moving to the next version of what they already use. Radiology leaders are asking about structured reporting, analytics, AI integration and how a new reporting platform would fit into the broader workflow.

What this means before RSNA: Rather than treating a platform transition as a one-for-one replacement, use it as an opportunity to rethink your reporting workflow and prioritize outcomes, such as:

• Improve radiologist efficiency and reduce cognitive load
• Create greater consistency across sites and teams
• Improve operational performance or patient follow-up
• Simplify the technology environment
• Establish a scalable foundation for AI and continued workflow innovation

A demo should validate your priorities, not define them. Establishing these goals upfront gives you a clearer standard for evaluating which platforms can deliver meaningful improvements. For more guidance, read “A Great Demo Isn’t Proof.”

The Question Isn’t Just “What Can It Do?” It’s “Will It Work Here?”

As AI-powered reporting options expand, radiology leaders are looking for clearer differentiation between platforms. We’re hearing questions about which capabilities are already working in production, how they’re being used in real clinical workflows and whether organizations with similar needs are seeing meaningful results. The differentiator is becoming less about what looks impressive in a demo and more about what’s proven to work in real clinical environments.

What this means before RSNA: When comparing reporting platforms, look beyond feature lists and polished demos to understand what each vendor can actually deliver. 

Apply the same standards to every solution you're evaluating:

• Is it real? Is the capability generally available in the production platform today, or is it still being piloted or developed?
• Is it proven? How long have other organizations used it in production, and can the vendor share evidence from organizations similar to yours?
• Is it used? Are radiologists actively incorporating the capability into their daily workflows, and how frequently?

A great demo isn't proof. Ask vendors for measurable outcomes and customer-validated data that demonstrate the value their technology delivers in real clinical environments. For examples of real-world results, explore Rad AI's Outcomes Compendium.

Implementation Readiness Is Part of the Platform Decision

Implementation questions are also emerging earlier in the evaluation process, as radiology leaders consider integration dependencies, migration requirements and governance alongside technological capabilities. Addressing these questions early helps organizations understand what a transition will require and how to move successfully from evaluation to deployment.

What this means before RSNA: Bring clinical, technical and operational stakeholders into the evaluation early. Beyond understanding what a platform can do, consider what it will take to implement, support and scale it across your organization. Ask vendors about:

• Migration and dependencies: What technical dependencies, migration requirements and governance decisions should we identify before implementation begins?
• Implementation support: What support will our teams receive at each stage of implementation, from integration and testing through training, go-live and ongoing optimization?
• Enterprise scalability: Can the platform be deployed and managed across multiple sites as a unified environment, or does each location require a separate instance?

A successful transition takes more than the right technology. Evaluate whether the vendor has a proven approach to implementation and can adapt to your organization's evolving needs at, and beyond, go-live.

Getting Ready for RSNA

We’ll be continuing these conversations at RSNA 2026. If reporting modernization is on your agenda, book time with Rad AI to talk through what your organization is evaluating and what you’re looking to solve.