Dear AuntMinnie Member,
SAN FRANCISCO - A new study presented today at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) meeting puts a price tag on the cost of defensive medicine to the U.S. healthcare system from orthopedic surgeons: a cool $2 billion a year.
Researchers surveyed orthopedic surgeons to find out how much they spent on medical testing ordered primarily to protect themselves in the event of a malpractice lawsuit, according to an article by associate editor Kate Madden Yee, who was on hand for this morning's presentation. Not only did 95% of the physicians report practicing defensive medicine at some time, but the total annual cost of such studies came to $2 billion.
Medical imaging contributes much of that cost, which the study breaks out by modality. Find out which imaging exam contributes the most by clicking here, or visit our Imaging Leaders Digital Community at leaders.auntminnie.com.
Is it safe to scan bullets with MRI?
In more AAOS news, international editor Eric Barnes attended a Wednesday session that shed some light on whether it's safe to scan patients with bullets embedded in their bodies.
It might seem to be a no-brainer at first, but in actuality few studies have been done to address the question. While CT is usually used in the kinds of trauma environments that might see patients with gunshot wounds, MRI is sometimes considered for patients with retained bullets, and you definitely want to know what's in there before you hit the scan button.
Surprisingly, the researchers found that most bullets aren't disturbed by the powerful magnetic fields in most MRI scanners. But there's one kind of bullet that you don't want to scan under any circumstances. Find out what it is by clicking here, or visit the MRI Digital Community at mri.auntminnie.com.
