The Access to Medical Imaging Coalition (AMIC) has issued a statement praising a new policy brief from the American College of Radiology's Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute that said the average length of hospital stay has increased since 2006, while medical imaging utilization and spending have declined.
The report also called for further research to measure the effect of imaging reductions on increased hospitals admissions, which are among the largest and fast growing drivers of healthcare costs.
Because patient access to advanced imaging saves lives and can reduce long-term costs for the healthcare system, it's essential that policymakers refer to the latest data on utilization and spending trends when contemplating cuts that would threaten patient access to lifesaving imaging services, Tim Trysla, AMIC's executive director, said in a statement.
AMIC also cautioned that the downward trends highlighted in the policy brief are taking place at a time when research continues to demonstrate the value of imaging in improving outcomes and reducing costs. For example, advanced medical imaging has been shown to reduce the number of invasive surgeries, unnecessary hospital admissions, and length of hospital stays, AMIC said.
Medical imaging has also been directly linked to greater life expectancy and declines in mortality rates, AMIC said.
