NATCHEZ — A newly signed contract between Natchez Regional Medical Center and a Lake Charles-based radiology group will bring at least two new doctors to Natchez Regional and bring additional radiology services at the facility.

Natchez Regional Chief Administrating Officer Bruce Buchanan said the contract with Precision Radiology Management of Louisiana, which was finalized by the facility’s board of trustees at the end of August, goes into effect today.

And that means the hospital’s patients will have access to doctors and services they have not had before.

Natchez Regional Vice President of Medical Affairs Dr. Ken Stubbs said Precission Radiology will now be using a network of doctors across Louisiana and Mississippi to read test results from procedures like biopsies and mammograms.

However, Precision Radiology is not the same company Natchez Regional began talks with several months ago when it first began looking for outside radiologists.

Stubbs said “several issues” arose with that company and Natchez Regional was approached by Precission Radiology.

Stubbs said the partnership with Precision Radiology will allow Natchez Regional to have constant access to radiologists that will be able to read tests outside of Natchez.

Additionally, the new contract will provide the facility with a much faster turnaround time on test results and two new radiologists, Stubbs said.

“We’ll be able to get some results in hours or days,” Stubbs said. “Not weeks.”

The two new doctors, employed by Precision Radiology, will be at the facility for procedures like biopsies and stints, Stubbs said.

The large team of doctors working for Precision Radiology will allow Natchez Regional to have a greater variety of tests read, Stubbs said.

And a new interventional radiologist that will be at the facility on a rotating basis will give patients access to some medical procedures not available in Natchez.

“That means patients aren’t leaving town,” Buchanan said.

Since Precision Radiology bills patients or their insurance companies directly, there is no cost to the hospital for their services.

Stubbs said the hospital’s current computer software that will link Natchez Regional with Precision Radiology will need be updated to make information sharing between the two entities more efficient, but the software would have likely been updated regardless of Precision’s presence.

While Stubbs said he did not know the cost of upgrading the computer systems, he said he and others at the hospital are extremely pleased with the new partnership.

“It’s a big plus,” Stubbs said. “It’s great for the hospital and our patients.”

Natchez Regional previously contracted with local business Radiology Associates of Natchez.

Now that Natchez Regional is no longer contracted with Radiology Associates, the company’s workload has lessened, co-owner Dr. Raymond Brown said, but he’s OK with the change.

For more than 20 years Brown and his partner Dr. Fred Emrick have provided radiology services for the hospital.

“This gives us a chance to slow down,” Brown said. “It’s like being semi-retired.”

Brown and Emrick will still continue to provide radiology services to other healthcare facilities in the area.