VIDEO: Reimbursement for CT colonography has been a complicated path, but radiologists shouldn’t wait to pursue local coverage and set up a screening program, said Perry Pickhardt, MD.
Reimbursement for CT colonography has been a long and at times piecemeal path.
Now, there are a few approaches to covering CTC, also known as virtual colonoscopy, said Perry Pickhardt, MD, chief of gastrointestinal imaging at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. There’s the grassroots approach through local payers, a legislative approach through Congress or the broader, more immediate approach would be to have CMS cover it as a screening tool.
But CMS has declined to cover the procedure until the United States Preventative Services Task Force gives it a positive rating (and as of now, they’ve given it one of “insufficient evidence”).
But that doesn’t mean radiologists shouldn’t act on providing the procedure, Pickhardt said.
“I do think a lot of radiologists are our own worst enemy in some respects,” he said at an interview at the recent ARRS conference in Washington, DC. “There’s some inertia, people waiting on the sidelines for broader coverage before they jump in.”
But practices should be more proactive, he explained, by determining local coverage and working to set up a screening program. By getting a program set up now, practices can be ready to hit the ground running when coverage comes through.
Can CT-Based Deep Learning Bolster Prognostic Assessments of Ground-Glass Nodules?
June 19th 2025Emerging research shows that a multiple time-series deep learning model assessment of CT images provides 20 percent higher sensitivity than a delta radiomic model and 56 percent higher sensitivity than a clinical model for prognostic evaluation of ground-glass nodules.
How to Successfully Launch a CCTA Program at Your Hospital or Practice
June 11th 2025Emphasizing increasing recognition of the capability of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) for the evaluation of acute and stable chest pain, this author defuses common misperceptions and reviews key considerations for implementation of a CCTA program.
Can CT-Based Deep Learning Bolster Prognostic Assessments of Ground-Glass Nodules?
June 19th 2025Emerging research shows that a multiple time-series deep learning model assessment of CT images provides 20 percent higher sensitivity than a delta radiomic model and 56 percent higher sensitivity than a clinical model for prognostic evaluation of ground-glass nodules.
How to Successfully Launch a CCTA Program at Your Hospital or Practice
June 11th 2025Emphasizing increasing recognition of the capability of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) for the evaluation of acute and stable chest pain, this author defuses common misperceptions and reviews key considerations for implementation of a CCTA program.
2 Commerce Drive
Cranbury, NJ 08512