What Is a B Read — and Why It Matters More Than Ever in Occupational Medicine

If your clinic offers occupational medicine services, you’ve likely seen an uptick in chest X-ray requirements recently — and that’s not a coincidence.

Updated guidance from the CDC and several state health departments is tightening the window for B reads, requiring more frequent and consistent surveillance for patients exposed to occupational lung hazards. This creates a new challenge: most clinics don’t have access to certified B readers, and turnaround times for outsourced reads are slowing down.

So what exactly is a B Read, and why is it becoming a critical part of your workflow?

What Is a B Read?

A B read is a standardized interpretation of a chest radiograph, used primarily in occupational health to screen for pneumoconiosis — a group of lung diseases like asbestosis, silicosis, and coal workers’ pneumoconiosis.

Not every radiologist is certified to perform a B read. Only those who pass a rigorous NIOSH exam and maintain ongoing certification can qualify. This elite group of B readers is responsible for identifying even subtle evidence of occupational lung damage — findings that may have serious legal, regulatory, and patient-care implications.

⚠️ Important: These reads aren’t optional. In many industries, they’re part of legally mandated screening protocols — and a misstep could mean falling out of compliance.

Why Are B Reads in the Spotlight Now?

Several factors are driving the increased demand for B reads:

• New CDC guidelines and state mandates are requiring more frequent chest x-rays in high-risk professions
• Regulatory audits and legal challenges are more common, making it crucial that B reads are performed correctly — and documented properly
• Occupational medicine programs are growing in both urgent care and employer health settings, raising the stakes for scalable, fast chest X-ray reading

This has led to a supply/demand mismatch — more required chest x ray B reads, fewer available readers.

When Do You Need a B Read?

B Reads play a critical role in keeping workers safe, staying compliant, and catching occupational lung diseases early. Because they follow a standardized process, certified B Readers help avoid misdiagnosis and make sure exposed workers get the right care when it matters most.

You may need a B read if your organization is involved in:

• Workplace exposure monitoring (e.g., asbestos, coal dust, silica)
• Legal or insurance claims involving occupational lung disease
• Government surveillance programs or research studies
• Specialized chest X-ray analysis as part of digital chest application processes

Because the consequences of misinterpretation can be high — including delayed diagnoses or costly legal consequences  — using a certified B reader X-ray specialist is crucial for safety and compliance.

Why B Readers Matter for Occupational Medicine

Reading chest radiographs isn’t just about spotting abnormalities — it’s about doing it consistently, under a standardized system that holds up to clinical and legal scrutiny. That’s what makes the role of a B reader so essential.

Even experienced radiologists may not qualify as B readers unless they’ve undergone additional NIOSH-approved training and passed their board reader exam.

The Bottleneck: Not Enough Certified B Readers

There are fewer than 200 certified B readers in the U.S., and most aren’t available on demand. That leaves clinics scrambling to find outsourced partners, sometimes waiting days or even weeks for results.

If you’re trying to maintain a modern occupational medicine program, that simply doesn’t work. Delays affect compliance, revenue, and patient satisfaction.

Experity solves this with two on-staff certified B readers, delivering accurate interpretations in 24 hours or less.

Stay Compliant and Deliver Exceptional Patient Care With Experity

Experity’s Teleradiology B-Read Service is built for the realities of modern urgent care and OccMed workflows:

• Certified B readers perform reads quickly and consistently
• $45 per B read — no markups, no middlemen
• Audit-ready documentation to support legal and regulatory compliance
• Seamless integration into your existing patient flow

We make it easy for you to get the chest X-ray B reads you need — without the stress, the delays, or the compliance risk.

Built for Urgent Care and OccMed Providers

Experitys combine tech-enabled workflows with rare, human expertise — so your patients and clients get the accurate readings they need, when they need them. Our B-read services are ideal for:

• Urgent cares offering employer services and physicals
• Occupational medicine clinics managing large volumes of surveillance
• Private health systems with employer contracts or high-risk patient populations

Whether you’re a provider-owner, a managing partner, or a clinic administrator, we make it easy to offer fast, compliant, audit-proof B reads — without adding complexity to your workflow.

Stay Ahead of B-Read Compliance