CT defies perceptions about high cost
BY CHARLES BANKHEAD
Analysis of 46,000 CT exams at one institution showed
that the average exam costs about $100,
less if contrast isn't used.
Despite its reputation as an expensive, high-tech imaging technique, computed tomography not only is a relatively low-cost diagnostic method but also a cost-effective method, results of a Boston study reported on Sunday suggest.
A review of 45,600 CT exams performed during 1997 showed an average cost of about $100 per procedure, said Dr. Raju Sharma, a radiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital.
The per-procedure cost varied according to the use of contrast agents with CT, but the difference was not great. For example, a CT of the head cost $83.11 without contrast and $99.50 with contrast. For chest CT, cost averaged $103.98 with contrast and $124.48 without.
More than 75% of CT scans of the head and chest were performed without contrast, as were more than half the scans of the abdomen and pelvis. Together, those four anatomic areas accounted for 85% of the CT scans during the study period. Because most of the were performed without contrast, the cost per procedure is less than $100 in most cases.
"CT is considered expensive, but data on actual costs is scanty," said Sharma. "Our data suggest that if CT provides reliable diagnostic information for a given clinician scenario, it should be readily chosen as a viable alternative to other imaging techniques."
Sharma added that the costs calculated in the study represented only departmental costs. Institutional costs were not incorporated into the calculations.
