Diagnostic imaging surge by non-radiologists dra...( CHICAGO Imaging experts say they are a...)

Diagnostic imaging surge by non-radiologists draws concern

CHICAGO Imaging experts say they are alarmed by the dramatic increase in the number of diagnostic imaging tests being performed by physicians other than radiologists.

"These self-referrals, where physicians order imaging tests and then perform the tests themselves or have the tests performed by members of their own medical group, represent the type of trend that will bankrupt the healthcare system by driving up costs overall," said David C. Levin, M.D., author or co-author of five papers presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

"Plus, having physicians who are not specifically trained in imaging could result in a decrease in quality," Dr. Levin added.

Dr. Levin and colleagues conducted their research by analyzing procedure, specialty and location codes drawn from the Medicare Part B fee-for-services databases between 1997 and 2002. They found:

Among radiologists, noninvasive diagnostic imaging utilization rates rose 11.6 percent; among all non-radiologists, utilization rate increases were twice as high, at 23.5 percent; among cardiologists, those rates were twice again as high at 42.2 percent.

Medicare reimbursement for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) services increased at six times the rate (599%) for orthopedic surgeons than for radiologists (99%).

The proportion of noninvasive diagnostic imaging performed in hospitals fell, with the in-patient percentage dropping from 33.6 percent to 28.4 percent, while imaging at private offices and imaging centers rose from 28.1 percent to 32.6 percent.

The utilization rate of radionuclide myocardial perfusion imaging (RMPI), an exam of the heart that uses radioactive tracers to diagnose coronary artery disease, rose 78 percent among cardiologists, compared with only 2 percent among radiologists.

Although the data cannot assess whether the individual tests ordered were needed, Dr
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Contact: Doug Dusik
ddusik@rsna.org
630-590-7762
Radiological Society of North America
30-Nov-2004

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