The Access to Medical Imaging Coalition (AMIC) said that President Obama's 2015 budget would harm patient access to advanced medical imaging technologies by requiring prior authorization through radiology benefits management (RBM) firms.
The Obama administration should instead focus on physician-developed appropriate use criteria, which have been shown to drive appropriate imaging use without compromising patient access to imaging, according to Tim Trysla, executive director of AMIC.
AMIC also cited a recent analysis that suggests medical imaging utilization per Medicare beneficiary has declined 5% since 2009 and spending on imaging services for each Medicare beneficiary has decreased 17% since 2006.
Meanwhile, AMIC asserted there is a lack of scientific, peer-reviewed research on the safety, efficacy, or impact on administrative costs of prior authorization and RBMs. In fact, a study in the June 2011 issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (Lee et al, Vol. 8:6, pp. 393-401) found that relying on RBMs to conduct prior authorization for advanced imaging increases costs and red tape, placing a burden on physicians and potentially causing delays in treatment, according to AMIC.
