Since 2002, Ajay Bhatnagar, MD, MBA has excelled as the founder and radiation oncologist at the Prostate Cancer Institute of Arizona. In this highly specialized practice, he provides men with hope and energy through innovative Low Dose Rate Brachytherapy. In addition to his responsibilities there, he performs procedures at various hospitals and served as the radiation oncologist at Alliance Oncology from 2018 to 2022 and at Cancer Treatment Services Arizona from 2007 to 2018. Between 2012 and 2017, he was active as a consultant and contracted medical director across multiple health plans—Medicare, Medicaid, Health Exchange—at HealthChoice; his duties in this capacity included prior authorizations, utilization review and management, appeals and grievances, organ transplant reviews, provider credentialing, and quality management.

Attributing his success to his supportive family, without whom he said he wouldn’t have been able to achieve his goals, Dr. Bhatnagar attained a Bachelor of Applied Science in bioengineering and biomedical engineering and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 1998; a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 2002 and subsequently completed a residency; and a Master of Business Administration from the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business within the University of Pittsburgh in 2006. Initially comfortable in community practice, he decided to shift his career and do something more significant with his skills and training, bringing him to his current role. He specializes in Low Dose Rate Prostate Brachytherapy which is less than a one-hour procedure and highly effective in curing prostate cancer with minimal side effects. Patients can go home and return to work a few days later. Although it’s comfortable, quick, and proven effective, and is the most conformal radiation treatment for prostate cancer few professionals offer it because it doesn’t reimburse as much as treatments.

Upon reflection on his career, Dr. Bhatnagar has been most proud of providing patients with optimal treatments for their well-being and initiating a prostate cancer screening program in an underserved community—for which he was recognized with the prestigious Humanitarian Award in 2012. Looking toward the future, he aims to further enhance the success and effectiveness of his endeavors as well as establish a nationwide network of prostate cancer centers to address the lack of access to appropriate treatment. He is a dedicated member of the American Brachytherapy Society, Arizona Medical Association, and American Society for Radiation Oncology, and a supporter of the Desert Cancer Foundation of Arizona.