August 16, 2021
A new Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute study found that between 2002 and 2018 neuroimaging exams increased 86% for radiologists and 163% for radiology trainees (residents and fellows). This means that neuroimaging services provided by radiology trainees increased disproportionately compared to radiologists—89% faster—over this period. While radiologists provide the vast majority of neuroimaging, the share provided by trainees increased from 3.7% to 5.3% between 2002 and 2018. Read More
August 10, 2021
A new Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute study found during a six-week period in March and April 2020, weekly outpatient imaging volume was 57% less than the same period in 2019. At its peak, the weekly imaging volume was down nearly 90% when examined on a weekly basis but recovered to pre-pandemic levels within 4 months. Read More
August 4, 2021
This new Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute study found that cervical spine imaging per emergency department encounter for trauma increased 52% between 2009 and 2018. This increase is largely attributable to the 10.5% annual increase in CT imaging for patients with minor injuries who have, historically, had lower utilization. This JACR study was based on over 11.3 million ED trauma encounters for commercially insured patients using the IBM MarketScan Database, which includes data from over 300 insurance carriers. Read More
July 23, 2021
A new Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute study found that patients paid 12% of the costs of secondary imaging interpretation out-of-pocket. Such secondary interpretations are increasingly performed for complex patients, but patients’ liabilities and paid out-of-pocket costs were not previously known. This Journal of the American College of Radiology study was based on 7,740 secondary interpretations for adult patients performed in a large metropolitan health system over a 2-year period. Read More
July 7, 2021
A new Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute study, published in Radiology, reviewed the implications of unexpected out-of-network balance billing—commonly called surprise billing—on reimbursement for hospital-based specialties such as radiology. The analysis concluded that even physicians who never engaged in such billing practices may still be impacted by the No Surprises Act, which is due to take effect in 2022. Read More
