Headline misstates source of economic woes in imaging
Your otherwise balanced article on the impact of the Deficit Reduction Act on medical imaging payments was marred by an unfortunate headline ("Trouble by the numbers: Imaging's reimbursement bubble bursts," August 2006, page 22). In fact, the imaging reimbursement environment bears no relationship to economic bubbles or the wasteful excesses that define them.
Medicare data show that many imaging procedures are paid below the true costs of providing the services, even now, before the DRA reductions are slated to be implemented. When the DRA cuts are factored in, reimbursement for some 80% of the affected imaging procedures will fall below the real-world costs that physicians face in providing the service, according to a recent preliminary analysis.
More broadly, medical imaging provides clear value to patients and to the healthcare system, whether that is measured in longer lives, improved efficiencies, shorter length-of-stay, earlier detection, or less invasive care. That is a sound, and welcome, economic reality.
-Andrew Whitman
National Electrical Manufacturers Association
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.
The Reading Room: Artificial Intelligence: What RSNA 2020 Offered, and What 2021 Could Bring
December 5th 2020Nina Kottler, M.D., chief medical officer of AI at Radiology Partners, discusses, during RSNA 2020, what new developments the annual meeting provided about these technologies, sessions to access, and what to expect in the coming year.
Can Emerging AI Software Offer Detection of CAD on CCTA on Par with Radiologists?
May 14th 2025In a study involving over 1,000 patients who had coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) exams, AI software demonstrated a 90 percent AUC for assessments of cases > CAD-RADS 3 and 4A and had a 98 percent NPV for obstructive coronary artery disease.
