Out-of-pocket costs (OOPCs) have been largely eliminated for screening mammography. However, patients still face OOPCs when undergoing subsequent diagnostic tests after the initial screening, which represents a potential barrier to those who require follow-up testing after initial testing. This study examines the association between the degree of patient cost-sharing and the use of diagnostic breast cancer imaging after undergoing a screening mammogram. Full Article
Danny R. Hughes, PhD; William Espinoza, MS; Sarah Fein, MS; Elizabeth Y. Rula, PhD; Geraldine McGinty, MD, MBA. 2023. "Patient Cost-Sharing and Utilization of Breast Cancer Diagnostic Imaging by Patients Undergoing Subsequent Testing After a Screening Mammogram," JAMA Network Open
Reported breast cancer screening among American Indian women is consistently below that of White women. The last claims-based trends were from 1991 to 2001. This study updates mammography trends for American Indian women and examines the impact of race, urbanicity, and income on long-term mammography use. Full Article
Eric W. Christensen, PhD Casey E. Pelzl, MPH Bhavika K. Patel, MD Ruth C. Carlos, MD, MS Elizabeth Y. Rula, PhD. 2023. "Urbanicity, Income, and Mammography-Use Disparities Among American Indian Women," American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 64(5)
The No Surprises Act (NSA) is the first federal law to address surprise medical billing and became effective as of January 2022. This law prohibits balance billing to patients who receive unexpected out-of-network care and limits patient payments to their in-network cost-sharing (coinsurance, copay, or deductible). Many neuroradiologists and neurointerventionalists are involved in care that may be subject to the NSA, such as stroke or trauma work-ups from the emergency department, and, thus, should be aware of the implications. Full Article
T.H. Nguyen, R.E. Heller, K. Keysor, J.M. Milburn, E.Y. Rula, R. Spangler, and J.A. Hirsch. 2022. "The No Surprises Act: What Neuroradiologists Should Know," American Journal of Neuroradiology
The objective of this study was to investigate whether the state share of ED visits for which an NPP was the clinician of record is associated with imaging studies ordered, given that state NPP share is associated with
state-level NPP scopes of practice. Full Article
Eric W. Christensen, PhD; Chi-Mei Liu, PhD; Richard Duszak Jr, MD; Joshua A. Hirsch, MD; Timothy L. Swan, MD; Elizabeth Y. Rula, PhD. 2022. "Association of State Share of Nonphysician Practitioners With Diagnostic Imaging Ordering Among Emergency Department Visits for Medicare Beneficiaries," JAMA Network Open
The researchers objective was to examine the association of treatment and neuroimaging with ischemic stroke total hospital cost growth for the Medicare fee-for-service population. Full Article
Eric W. Christensen, PhD , Casey E. Pelzl, MPH, Jennifer Hemingway, MS, Jason J. Wang, PhD, Maria X. Sanmartin, PhD, Jason J. Naidich, MD, MBA, Elizabeth Y. Rula, PhD, Pina C. Sanelli, MD, MPH. 2022. "Drivers of Ischemic Stroke Hospital Cost Trends Among Older Adults in the United States," Journal of American College of Radiology (JACR)
This study in Radiology examines the relationship between use of newer mammographic technology and race in women receiving mammography services. This was a multiyear (January 2005 to December 2020) retrospective study of women aged 40–89 years with Medicare fee-for-service insurance who underwent mammography. Full Article
Eric W. Christensen, Mikki Waid, Jinel Scott, Bhavika K. Patel, Jacqueline A. Bello, Elizabeth Y. Rula. 2022. "Relationship between Race and Access to Newer Mammographic Technology in Women with Medicare Insurance," Radiology
With radiology practices increasingly employing nonphysician practitioners (NPPs), the study researchers aimed to characterize specific NPP clinical roles. As radiology practices employ more NPPs, radiologist-employed NPPs’ aggregate services have increased for E&M, invasive procedures, and imaging interpretation. Full Article
Stefan Santavicca, MS , Danny R. Hughes, PhD, Andrew B. Rosenkrantz, MD, MPA, Eric Rubin, MD, Richard Duszak Jr., MD. 2022. "Professional Services Rendered by Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants Employed by Radiology Practices: Characteristics and Trends From 2017 Through 2019," Journal of American College of Radiology (JACR)
There have been growing efforts nationally and institutionally toward diversity in radiology. The purpose of this Radiology study is to analyze sex and racial and ethnic diversity over time (2010–2019) for the various levels of the U.S. academic radiology physician workforce in context of the available pipeline of medical students and trainees. Full Article
Xiao Wu, Suryansh Bajaj, Mihir Khunte, Margarita Revzin, Dheeraj Gandhi, Max Wintermark, Pina Sanelli, Howard Forman, Ajay Malhotra. 2022. "Diversity in Radiology: Current Status and Trends Over the Past Decade," Radiology
Twenty-five years of annual Medicare Physician/Supplier Procedure Summary (PSPS) Master File data were used to assess trends in normalized volume and claim denial rates for brain CT. Alongside growth in utilization of brain CT services, denial rates, fell from 1999-2005 and with relatively leveled growth and less denial rate volatility thereafter. More recent trends in denial rates may be related to policy interventions initially aimed at cost and volume reduction. Full Article
Robert J.French, Jr. MD, Joshua Hirsch, MD, Jennifer Hemingway, MS, Danny R. Hughes, PhD, Reginald Lerebours, MA, Sheng Luo, PhD, Brian C. Allen, MD, Richard Duszak, Jr. MD, David A. Rosman MD, MBA. 2022. "Association and Trends in Medicare Denials and Utilization for Brain CT: Indirect Impacts by Targeted Policy Intervention?," Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology
The aim of this study was to quantify the initial decline and subsequent rebound in breast cancer screening metrics throughout the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Full Article
Lars J. Grimm, MD, MHS, Cindy Lee, MD, Robert D. Rosenberg, MD, Judy Burleson, MHSA, Michael Simanowith, MD, Tom Fruscello, Jr., MBA, Casey E. Pelzl, MPH, Sarah M. Friedewald, MD, Linda Moy, MD, Margarita L. Zuley, MD. 2022. "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Breast Imaging: An Analysis of the National Mammography Database," Journal of American College of Radiology (JACR)
