Dear AuntMinnie Member,
An Oregon insurance payor that had planned to stop paying for computer-aided detection (CAD) used with imaging studies has rescinded that policy, enabling CAD proponents to breathe a sigh of relief.
ODS Companies of Portland last week told healthcare providers in its network that it would not follow through on an earlier decision to stop CAD payments. The company said it made the about-face after reviewing current literature on the technology, according to an article by contributing writer Cynthia Keen in our Women's Imaging Digital Community.
Major questions remain in the wake of the policy reversal, however. ODS based its original decision to stop paying for CAD on the results of a negative study on the technology published in April in the New England Journal of Medicine. The findings in that article continue to vex CAD proponents, who believe the study is flawed on a number of levels, according to Ms. Keen's article.
While CAD advocates have won round one, the question is whether their luck will continue in coming months. Other payors undoubtedly are looking hard at their CAD reimbursement policies in light of the NEJM findings, despite other research that shows a definite benefit for CAD for screening mammography. A rolling wave of CAD payment cuts could derail a technology that many breast imaging specialists already see as a necessary component of their practice.
We can't predict what the future holds for CAD, but we can tell you about what CAD advocates and mammographers are saying about the Oregon controversy and the NEJM study. Get the rest of the details by clicking here, or visit our Women's Imaging Digital Community at women.auntminnie.com.
If you hear of any changes in CAD reimbursement policy from your payors, feel free to let us know at [email protected].
