Dear AuntMinnie Member,
Momentum is steadily building against physician self-referral in the U.S., with another article published this week indicating the toll the practice is taking on healthcare costs.
A study published on November 9 in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that physicians who bill for nuclear stress tests or stress echocardiography exams order more of these studies following cardiac interventions compared with doctors who don't.
While the study may come as no surprise to radiologists, it's adding to a mountain of data accumulating against physician self-referral. And with federal regulators eyeing imaging costs closely, the study can only be viewed as another argument in favor of a renewed push against the loophole in Medicare laws that allows nonradiologist physicians to operate imaging equipment in their own offices.
Read more about the study by clicking here, or visit our Imaging Leaders Digital Community at leaders.auntminnie.com.
Preview of CT sessions at RSNA
In other news, our ongoing preview of the RSNA show, Road to RSNA, keeps on rolling. Today we're highlighting CT sessions, giving you a comprehensive overview of one of medical imaging's most exciting modalities.
You'll find presentations on coronary CT angiography versus calcium scoring, CT dose reduction techniques, and perfusion CT. Check it out by clicking here.
Other Road to RSNA sections include Women's Imaging, Molecular Imaging, and PACS, with still more to come! Follow all the action at rsna.auntminnie.com.
