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The mission of the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute® is to establish foundational evidence for health policy and radiology practice that promotes the effective and efficient use of health care resources and improves patient care.

October 13, 2026

New Commentary Challenges Outdated Claims About Imaging Use and the Radiologist Workforce

A new commentary from the. Neiman Institute challenges a recent claim that declining imaging use has allowed the United States to meet imaging demand without increasing the number of radiologists. The Institute argues that the claim — made in a 2026 JAMA Health Forum article — relies on outdated utilization data and overlooks a growing body of evidence showing increasing imaging volume and complexity, rising radiologist workload and worsening capacity constraints. Read More

September 30, 2026

Radiology Practices that Own Imaging Scanners are 17% Less Likely to Close or Consolidate with Another Practice

A new study from HPI found that practices that perform both imaging scans and interpretation services were 17% less likely to close than practices that do not own imaging scanners. The study, based on 30,625 practice-years over the 2008-2021 period, was published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology. Read More

September 17, 2026

Individual IR Focus and Evaluation and Management Services Facilitate Higher Complexity IR Practice

A new study from the HPI found that both practice-level and radiologist-level IR specialization are associated with increasing procedural complexity, and nurse practitioners and physician assistants, through the provision of evaluation and management services, contributed to increased procedural complexity to the interventional radiologists they support. This practice-level analysis was published in JACR. Read More

September 15, 2026

AI Helps Radiologists Detect 39% More Brain Aneurysm Cases in Real-World Study

A new study published in JACR found that an artificial intelligence algorithm can meaningfully enhance brain aneurysm detection when used alongside radiologists. The findings provide important real-world evidence supporting AI as a clinical assistive tool for brain aneurysm detection. Read More

September 9, 2026

COVID-19 Pandemic Accelerated Adoption of Shorter, Lower-Burden Breast Radiation Therapy, Medicare Study Finds

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of shorter-course radiation therapy for women with early-stage breast cancer, leading to reduced treatment burden and lower healthcare spending, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Oncology. Read More

September 1, 2026

Study Finds Substantially Higher Imaging Use When Ordering Clinicians Interpret Their Own Imaging

A new study from the Neiman Institute found that the odds of imaging following an office visit were 188% higher when ordering clinician self-interpreted the imaging they ordered versus referring interpretation to a radiologist. Practices that routinely referred imaging to a radiologist also demonstrated lower imaging use following office visits. The study, based on 24.2 million Medicare office visits, was published in JACR. Read More

August 6, 2026

New Study Finds DXA Osteoporosis Screening Declined 35% Among Medicare Beneficiaries

A new HPI study reveals a substantial decline in DXA testing among Medicare beneficiaries that was greatest in certain underserved groups. The findings raise concerns about missed opportunities to diagnose osteoporosis and prevent fractures and associated costs. The study analyzed nearly two decades of Medicare claims data from more than 5 million beneficiaries and found that use of DXA fell by 35% over the study period. Read More

August 4, 2026

Imaging Interpretation Turnaround Time Continued to Increase in 2024, by 27%

A new study from the Neiman Institute found that the time between an imaging scan and its interpretation for office/hospital outpatient imaging increased 27% between 2023 and 2024. The study, based on 2.9 million office/hospital outpatient Medicare imaging studies, published in JACR, was an update to previous HPI study of turnaround times through 2023. Read More

July 27, 2026

Two Decades of Medicare Payment Declines Associated with Worsening Patient Access Gaps

A new study from the Neiman Institute found that the persistent declines in Medicare physician reimbursement are associated with widening disparities in access to care, with patients in rural communities, low-income areas, and disadvantaged neighborhoods falling further behind their more urban, affluent, and advantaged counterparts. The study, based on 4.7 million unique patients over the 2005-2023 period, was published in INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing. Read More

June 26, 2026

Hospital Resources—Not Patient Need—Drive Stroke AI Tool Adoption Under Medicare

A new study published in the American Journal of Neuroradiology finds that adoption of artificial intelligence software for detecting large vessel occlusion in acute ischemic stroke when billed through Medicare’s New Technology Add-On Payment program has grown but remains uneven, with use concentrated in larger, specialized hospitals and varying geographically. Read More