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NYT: Double CT Scans Unnecessary, Cost Medicare $25 million a year
Hundreds of hospitals across the country needlessly exposed patients to radiation by giving patients doubled-up CT chest scans a front page article in Saturday’s New York Times found.
Hundreds of hospitals across the country needlessly exposed patients to radiation by giving patients doubled-up CT chest scans a front page article in Saturday’s New York Times found.
Assessing Medicare outpatient claims for 2008 (the most recent data available), Times reporters Walt Bogdanich and Jo Craven McGinty found that about 75,000 patients received double cans, one using iodine contrast, one without. Each scan exposed patients to 350 times the radiation of a traditional x-ray – the primary concern of physicians commenting for the Time – and cost Medicare $25 million.
The Times found that more than 200 hospitals had done double scans on more than 30 percent of their Medicare patients, with scan rates as high as 60 percent to 80 percent at some hospitals. Academic medical centers, the Times reported, have double-scan rates of less than one percent and sometimes zero. Radiologists interviewed said double scans are needed only in rare cases.
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.
Shaping the Future of Radiology in 2025: Trends, Threats, and Opportunities
January 10th 2025How do we respond to challenges with staff recruitment, cybersecurity, and looming hospital takeovers in radiology? This author assesses key trends in radiology and offers key insights to stay competitive in the field.
