Radiologist Referrals Generate Few High-Cost Exams

Posted: January 27, 2012 by David Rosenfeld

A study in the latest issue of the journal Radiology says that a radiologists recommendation accounts for only a small portion of high-cost imaging procedures.

Researchers looked at nearly 30,000 high-cost imaging exams and found that 5.3% followed a radiologists recommendation. Chest CT was the most common, followed by abdominal CT and brain MRI, according to the study abstract.

Pulmonary nodules or masses were the most common reason for follow-up imaging examinations.

Posted in utilization_management , research

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