A Conversation with Vascular & Interventional Partners (VIP)
Vascular & Interventional Partners is one of Phoenix’s most respected interventional
radiology practices. They perform a variety of minimally invasive procedures for their patients.
Arizona Physician recently sat down with Chris Goettl, MD, MBA, to discuss interventional radiology, VIP, and what the future holds for his practice.
ARIZONA PHYSICIAN: Dr. Goettl, what is your history with Vascular & Interventional Partners (VIP).
DR. GOETTL: I have worked with this same group since graduating from my fellowship in 2018. I am one of the five founding physicians when VIP transitioned on to private practice in 2022.
AZP: Dr. Goettl, most physicians that earn an MBA do so after they have established themselves as physicians. What led you to become a physician after obtaining your MBA?
DR. GOETTL: Starting in high school, I was fortunate to have a clear picture in my mind of
how I wanted my career to look. My goal was to become an interventional radiologist, and to help run the business side of a group practice in addition to working as a physician. This led me to pursue a premed degree as an undergraduate and then complete an MBA. I then worked as a management consultant for 2 years before medical school and residency training. But my long-term goal was always to become an interventional radiologist.
AZP: Dr. Goettl, you are an interventional radiologist. Tell us more about this specialty and what makes it different from a typical radiologist.
DR. GOETTL: IR is a unique field and has transitioned from being a sub-specialty of Diagnostic Radiology to its own distinct primary specialty in medicine. In our practice we are full-time IR physicians, meaning we do not practice any traditional diagnostic radiology (although we are constantly reviewing images as part of our procedural care). Our day is more like surgical practice than diagnostic radiology, split between patient consultations and performing image-guided procedures.
AZP: You serve as both CEO and practicing physician within the group. Share with physicians how you can be successful in both of those vital positions.
DR. GOETTL: Balancing administrative and patient care duties can be challenging. The key for me to be successful is our outstanding IR partners and colleagues. We work as a team and everyone contributes unique strengths to the practice, which has allowed us to be collectively successful. We also have excellent techs, nurses, and administrative staff that allow us to provide the best care possible to our patients.
AZP: Can you share with us a brief history of Vascular and Interventional Partners (VIP).
DR. GOETTL: The VIP group was formed out of a group of hospital-employed IR physicians, with each of us practicing full-time IR or Neuro-IR. Our focus was not diagnostic radiology or combined IR/DR practice. We were initially 100% hospital-based, but we felt that we needed a highly clinical and accessible outpatient office to provide our patients with the best care. We opened our first procedural office in Scottsdale in 2022 and are now expanding to new hospitals and outpatient sites of service.
Vascular & Interventional Partners (VIP) by the Numbers:
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Founded in 2022
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8 Physicians
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3 Nurse Practitioners
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2 Physician Assistants
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40 total employees
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Services & Programs
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Vascular & interventional radiology procedures, oncology, venous disease, neurovascular, men’s health, women’s health, spine, kidney disease & dialysis access, GI interventions, arterial disease, and joint pain
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Conditions Treated
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Compression fractures, portal hypertension, enlarged prostate (BPH), osteoarthritis, hemorrhoids, liver cancer, May-Thurner Syndrome, Spine Health & Pain Relief
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2 Locations
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Scottsdale and Phoenix
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Connect with VIP: (480) 435-9100 or visit vipinterventional.com​
AZP: What services do you provide for patients? Which are the most popular?
DR. GOETTL: We provide the full spectrum of IR and Neuro-IR care in our practice. In the hospital, we treat high-complexity and high-acuity patients with procedures like stroke thrombectomy, trauma embolization, TIPS placement, and cerebral aneurysm coiling. In the outpatient setting, we perform elective procedures including chest port placement, uterine artery embolization, liver and kidney tumor ablation, or prostate artery embolization (PAE). PAE is becoming very popular in men seeking a less invasive way of treating their BPH.
AZP: What makes VIP stand out from its competitors in Arizona?
DR. GOETTL: Our group practices 100% IR, rather than the more traditional combined IR/DR private practice models. This allows us to focus entirely on procedural and consultative care, rather than spending a part of our day interpreting images. In addition, we are wholly physician owned, without any large health system or private equity ownership. This allows us to focus on patients more than profits, and to refer to whichever provider we think is best for the patient regardless of where they work.
AZP: Share with us what has changed in radiology / interventional radiology in the last 10 years.
DR. GOETTL: As I mentioned before, IR has emerged as its own primary medical specialty over the last several decades. Our field has shifted away from training “technicians” (taking a written order from another physician and performing requested procedure) toward training well-rounded “clinicians” (who perform clinical evaluation and management of patients before, during, and after an IR procedure). At the same time, we have witnessed exciting progress in the various procedural devices and imaging equipment that we use every day. This ongoing innovation allows us to help more patients in a minimally invasive way.
AZP: Are there new trends in radiology or new technology that VIP is taking advantage of to better help patients while also helping its bottom line?
DR. GOETTL: Yes. We are constantly looking at new and improved imaging equipment (ultrasound machines, angiography systems) which was previously only available in a large hospital department but is now commonly accessible to a physician’s office on your neighborhood corner. In addition, we are looking closely at new devices and products used in vascular procedures, including radiopharmaceuticals and liquid embolics that can be used for complex vascular cases.
AZP: Dr. Goettl, we see that VIP has six physicians, three nurse practitioners, and three physician assistants. How does that provider mix help your practice?
DR. GOETTL: Our nurse practitioners and PAs are a hugely important part of our practice. They help
perform some of our most common procedures, provide high-level pre-procedure evaluation, and
help us ensure great clinical follow up. Our physicians and APPs are constantly working together to make sure we provide the best procedural services and clinical support possible.
AZP: Do you see any opportunities that will allow your practice to get bigger?
DR. GOETTL: Definitely. We are seeing a surge in demand for quality IR medical services, not
only in Maricopa County but across the country. Whether it is a large hospital, or a small independent physician practice, physicians and administrators genuinely appreciate the diverse value that we bring to patients. We believe in growing our model and thus expanding access to care for more patients across the southwest.
AZP: What do you see are the largest obstacles in running a group practice today?
DR. GOETTL: Obstructive behavior by private insurance companies is one of the largest challenges facing group practices today. We need significant policy reform to help change the way that insurance entities operate and impact healthcare. Second, ongoing cuts to CMS physician payments are not sustainable. We cannot continue to pay physicians less for the same work in an environment of cost inflation if we want to preserve quality outcomes andaccess to care.
AZP: Dr. Goettl, what does the future hold for VIP?
DR. GOETTL: I believe our future at VIP is very bright. We have developed a professionally rewarding IR group model that provides excellent patient care and appears to be economically sustainable. Increasingly young IR physicians are expressing interest in this model and reaching out to join the practice, so we feel that our best days are ahead of us. â–