Dear AuntMinnie Member,
It's taken as an article of faith in the medical community, but a recent study now offers solid empirical evidence that it's true: Implementing tort reform can reduce the practice of defensive medicine.
So concluded researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), profiled in our Imaging Leaders Digital Community by associate editor Kate Madden Yee. A UCSF team analyzed tort reform efforts in 10 states and compared them to utilization rates for neurological imaging in patients presenting to emergency rooms.
The researchers found -- surprise, surprise -- that the more tort reform laws a state had in place, the lower the odds of a patient receiving an imaging study. Learn more by clicking here.
Payors flee healthcare reform
In other news, evidence is building that healthcare payors are running away from healthcare reform. The question is whether imaging providers will get trampled in the stampede.
The specter of reduced coverage was raised in a presentation at the American Healthcare Radiology Administrators (AHRA) meeting wrapping up today in Washington, DC. In the talk, Ron Howrigon of Fulcrum Strategies in Raleigh, NC, offered advice to radiology professionals on how to prepare themselves as insurers take preventive measures, such as discontinuing some insurance products.
Radiology practices need to take a close look at their operations and managed care contracts to get ready, Mr. Howrigon advises. Find out more about how you can prepare yourself by clicking here, or visit the Imaging Leaders Digital Community at leaders.auntminnie.com.
