Lumbar punctures may be performed by many different types of health care providers. This study evaluates the percentages of lumbar punctures performed by radiologists-versus-nonradiologist providers, including changes with time and discrepancies between specialties. Full Article
D.R. Johnson, MD, Mikki Waid, PhD, Danny R. Hughes, PhD, Andrew B. Rosenkrantz, MD, Richard Duszak, MD. 2021. "Comparison of Radiologists and Other Specialists in the Performance of Lumbar Puncture Procedures Over Time," American Journal of Neuroradiology
Across radiologists nationally, geography, breast subspecialization, and performance of diagnostic mammography are associated with better screening mammography performance; performance of breast US is associated with lower performance. Factors affecting radiologists’ performance in screening mammography interpretation remain poorly understood. The purpose of this study it to identify radiologists characteristics that affect screening mammography interpretation performance. Full Article
Cindy Lee, MD, Linda Moy, MD, Hughes R. Danny, PhD, Dan Golden, Mythreyi Bhargavan-Chatfield, PhD, Jennifer Hemingway, MS, Agnieszka Geras, Richard Duszak, MD, Andrew Rosenkrantz, MD. 2021. "Radiologist Characteristics Associated with Interpretive Performance of Screening Mammography: A National Mammography Database (NMD) Study," Radiology
The aim of this study was to temporally characterize radiologist participation in Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) accountable care organizations (ACOs). Full Article
Stefan Santavicca, MS, Richard Duszak Jr, MD, Nicola Gregory, MD, Lauren Golding, MD, Andrew Rosenkrantz, MD, Christian Wernz, MD, Danny Hughes, PhD. 2021. "Evolving Radiologist Participation in Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations," Journal of American College of Radiology (JACR)
To measure the longitudinal changes in three domains of financial hardship (i.e., financial worry, cost-related care non-adherence, material hardship) in patients with MS. Full Article
Gelareh Sadigh, MD, Jeffrey Switchenko, MD, Neil Lava, MD, Richard Duszak Jr, MD, Elizabeth A. Krupinski, MD, Carolyn C. Meltzer, MD, Ruth C. Carlos, MD. 2021. "Longitudinal Changes of Financial Hardship in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis," Multiple Sclerosis
Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is an important contributor to musculoskeletal morbidity, but effective strategies to screen for DDH remain controversial. The current utilization of hip ultrasound (US) screening for DDH in the United States is not defined. This study utilized Optum's de-identified Clinformatics® Data Mart, a large commercial and Medicare Advantage claims database. Full Article
Andrew J. Degnan, MD, Jennifer Hemingway, MS, Hansel Otero, Danny R. Hughes, PhD. 2021. "Developmental Hip Dysplasia and Hip Ultrasound Frequency in a Large American Payer Database," Clinical Imaging
The Affordable Care Act of 2010 mandated private health plans to fully cover the services recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. In June 2016, the Task Force added computed tomography colonography to its list of recommended tests for colorectal cancer screening. This study evaluates the association among the updated recommendation, patient cost-sharing obligations, and the uptake of colorectal cancer screening through computed tomography colonography in the privately insured population. Full Article
Steven Chen, MSPH, Courtney C. Moreno, MD, Richard Duszak Jr., MD, Michal Horny, PhD. 2021. "U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Update and Computed Tomography for Colorectal Cancer Screening Among Privately Insured Population," American Journal of Preventative Medicine
The Radiology Support, Communication and Alignment Network (R-SCAN) is a quality improvement program through which patients, referring clinicians, and radiologists collaborate to improve imaging appropriateness based on Choosing Wisely recommendations and ACR Appropriateness Criteria. R-SCAN was shown previously to increase the odds of obtaining an appropriate, higher patient or diagnostic value, imaging study. In the current study, the researchers aimed to estimate the potential imaging cost savings associated with R-SCAN use for the Medicare population. Full Article
Max Wintermark, MD, MAS, MBA , Andrew B. Rosenkrantz, MD, Paymon G. Rezaii, MS, Nancy Fredericks, MBA, Laura Chaves Cerdas, MS, Judy Burleson, MHSA, G. Rebecca Haines, MSM, CPXP, Mythreyi Chatfield, PhD William T. Thorwarth Jr., MD, Richard Duszak Jr., MD, Danny R. Hughes, PhD. 2021. "Predicted Cost Savings Achieved by the Radiology Support, Communication and Alignment Network from Reducing Medical Imaging Overutilization in the Medicare Population," Journal of American College of Radiology (JACR)
Optimization of neuroimaging practices for headache is considered a national priority; however, nationwide patterns and predictors of neuroimaging use for headache in the US emergency departments (EDs) are unknown. The objective of this study is to analyze temporal neuroimaging utilization trends for adults and children with non-traumatic headache in the US EDs and identify factors predictive of neuroimaging use in this patient population. Full Article
Trofimova Anna, MD, PhD, Richard Duszak Jr, MD, Nadja Kadom, MD, Gelareh Sadigh, MD. 2021. "Increasing and Disparate use of Neuroimaging for Adults and Children with Non‐Traumatic Headaches in the US Emergency Departments: Opportunities for Improvement," Headache
The purpose of this study was to assess potential disparities in the utilization of advanced imaging during emergency department (ED) visits. This retrospective study was conducting using 5% Research Identifiable Files. All CT and MRI (together defined as “advanced imaging”) examinations associated with ED visits in 2015 were identified for continuously enrolled Medicare beneficiaries. Among Medicare beneficiaries receiving care in U.S. EDs, significant disparities exist in advanced imaging utilization. Although imaging appropriateness was not investigated, these findings suggest inequity. Further research is necessary to understand why consistent health benefits do not translate into consistent imaging access among risk-adjusted ED patients. Full Article
Tarek N. Hanna, MD, Eric Friedberg, MD, Ivan M. Dequesada, MD, Laura Chaves, MPP, Robert Pyatt, MD, Richard Duszak, Jr., MD, Danny R. Hughes, PhD. 2021. "Disparities in the Use of Emergency Department Advanced Imaging in Medicare Beneficiaries," American Journal of Roentgenology
The purpose of this study is to assess recent trends and characteristics in radiologist-practice separation across the United States. Using the Medicare Physician Compare and Medicare Physician and Other Supplier Public Use File data sets, the researchers linked all radiologists to associated group practices annually between 2014 and 2018 and assessed radiologist-practice separation over a variety of physician and group characteristics. Multivariate logistic regression modeling was used to estimate the likelihood of radiologist-practice separation. Full Article
Stefan Santavicca, MS , Danny R. Hughes, PhD, Howard B. Fleishon, MD, MMM, Frank Lexa, MD, MBA Eric Rubin, MD, Andrew B. Rosenkrantz, MD, MPA, Richard Duszak, MD. 2020. "Radiologist-Practice Separation: Recent Trends and Characteristics," Journal of American College of Radiology (JACR)
