TY - JOUR
T1 - Rising use of diagnostic medical imaging in a large integrated health system
AU - Smith-Bindman, Rebecca
AU - Miglioretti, Diana L
AU - Larson, Eric B.
PY - 2008/11
Y1 - 2008/11
N2 - Little has been published characterizing specific patterns of the dramatic rise in diagnostic imaging during the past decade. In a large health plan, 377,048 patients underwent 4.9 million diagnostic tests from 1997 through 2006. Cross-sectional imaging nearly doubled over those years, rising from 260 to 478 examinations per thousand enrollees per year. Imaging with computed tomography (CT) doubled, and imaging with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tripled. Cross-sectional studies added to existing studies instead of replacing them, and the annual per enrollee cost of radiology imaging more than doubled. The dramatic rise in imaging raises both costs and radiation exposure.
AB - Little has been published characterizing specific patterns of the dramatic rise in diagnostic imaging during the past decade. In a large health plan, 377,048 patients underwent 4.9 million diagnostic tests from 1997 through 2006. Cross-sectional imaging nearly doubled over those years, rising from 260 to 478 examinations per thousand enrollees per year. Imaging with computed tomography (CT) doubled, and imaging with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tripled. Cross-sectional studies added to existing studies instead of replacing them, and the annual per enrollee cost of radiology imaging more than doubled. The dramatic rise in imaging raises both costs and radiation exposure.
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U2 - 10.1377/hlthaff.27.6.1491
DO - 10.1377/hlthaff.27.6.1491
M3 - Article
C2 - 18997204
AN - SCOPUS:56649111139
VL - 27
SP - 1491
EP - 1502
JO - Health Affairs
JF - Health Affairs
SN - 0278-2715
IS - 6
ER -