With the Image Wisely campaign and other federal initiatives aiming to reduce the risk of radiation exposure in medical imaging, health care providers are looking for better ways to conduct procedures. By changing certain scanning protocols, radiologists can limit the number of repeated exams and minimize dosages to enhance patient safety.
According to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology, Ohio State University was able to reduce radiation-induced cancers by 50 percent through slashed CT dosages, AuntMinnie.com reported. A team of researchers, led by Michael Rayo, Ph.D., utilized readily available tools, such as iterative reconstruction and tube current modulation, to reduce radiation dose.
To measure the potential impact of dose reduction protocols on decreasing cancer risk, Rayo and his colleagues examined data for both Medicare and non-Medicare patients treated at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. Focusing on the calendar years 2008 to 2012, they looked at reimbursement codes for CT scans of four regions: the head, abdomen and pelvis, lumbar spine and sinus. They found that, overall, CT volume grew by 21 percent between 2008 and 2010, but then dropped by 30 percent from 2010 to 2012. Over the study period, this represented a net decline of 15 percent.
Rayo and his team also found that the proportion of patients who received large radiation doses went from 10 percent in 2010 to less than 1 percent by 2012.
Does more spending mean better detection?
In a recent article published in JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers from Yale University investigated changes in breast cancer screening and associated costs among women aged 65 years or older. Two groups of women from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)-Medicare database were followed for two years.
None of the participants had a history of breast cancer. The first group was comprised of more than 137,000 women with an average age of 76, and the second – after the introduction of new screening methods – was made up of over 133,000 individuals with a mean age of 77.3, Diagnostic Imaging reported.
The researchers found that the use of digital imaging equipment for screening mammography increased from 2 percent in 2001 to 2002 to almost 30 percent in 2008 to 2009, the length of the study period. They also discovered that screening costs per capita increased from $76 to $112, and related expenses in the SEER Medicare program jumped from $666 million in 2001 to $962 million in 2008. However, despite the increased spending, there was no significant change in early stage tumor detection rates – 2.45 against 2.57 per 1,000 person years
The research from these two universities makes the case for improving innovation in medical imaging. New equipment that produces high-quality images that are immediately reviewable on PACS systems can help providers cut down on repeated scans that can be hazardous to patients’ health. Radiologists should take this data to heart and consider replacing existing products with more modern and updated equipment.
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Ronny Bachrach
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