NightHawk Radiology read America's overnight X-rays and CT scans from Sydney and Zurich, where it was daytime. Hospitals sent their emergency images over the internet to U.S.-trained, U.S.-licensed radiologists working there. Reports came back in minutes. In 2006 emergency rooms were scanning more patients than ever. Small radiology groups struggled to cover every night, and NightHawk covered those nights for them.

An Idaho Radiologist's Idea

Paul Berger, a radiologist in Idaho, co-founded NightHawk in 2001. The bet was that time zones could solve the overnight staffing problem. Radiology groups would gladly pay to give their doctors a full night's sleep. The hard part was paperwork. NightHawk handled licensing and credentials across many states, so each of its radiologists held licenses in many states at once.

Merged Into vRad

NightHawk priced its IPO at $16 a share in February 2006 on the Nasdaq. Competition and pricing pressure grew, and many radiology groups began to cover nights themselves. In 2010 Virtual Radiologic bought NightHawk for about $170 million. The combined company, under the vRad name, became the largest teleradiology provider in the United States. Its overnight model is now standard practice in American hospitals.

Cover: Hawk on a Plum Branch, Kitagawa Utamaro. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a hawk (watching through the night).