Studies Underscore the Need for Improved Patient Knowledge on Imaging

Amid the pink ribbons and benefit walks to raise breast cancer awareness, clinical researchers have investigated the efficacy of various medical imaging modalities as screening methods for malignancies. A new study from Canada has revealed that mammography screenings generate significant cuts in mortality rates.

The results, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, contradict previous findings from the Canadian National Breast Screening Study that was conducted by Anthony Miller, M.D., and his colleagues from the University of Toronto. AuntMinnie.com explained that Miller and his team declared that annual mammograms for patients between the ages of 40 and 59 had no positive effects on breast cancer mortality.

However, researchers from the British Columbia Cancer Agency, led by Andrew Coldman, Ph.D., compared death rates in women who participated in organized breast screening programs to estimates of what would have happened had they not taken part. This data was gleaned from the experiences of women who had never undergone screenings. Coldman and his group invited 12 provincial programs to be included in the study, with seven agreeing to participate.

Data from 2.8 million screenings were included, with women who underwent at least one mammography exam between January 1990 and December 2009. The information was divided into five-year age groups – from 40 to 79 years old – and calendar periods. Coldman and his colleagues discovered that participating in screenings programs was associated with an average 40 percent reduction in mortality rate.

If patients were aware of the benefits associated with mammography and other diagnostic radiology equipment, they would be more inclined to participate in exams. In fact, another study from the University of Southern California indicated that increased pricing transparency for tests can result in considerable savings.

Better cost knowledge leads to spending reductions
HealthImaging reported that researchers, led by Neeraj Sood, Ph.D., director of research at the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics at USC, collaborated with San Francisco-based Castlight Health – a health care management technology company – on the study. They focused on the use of a price transparency platform, which clearly outlined costs for various procedures and exams.

Sood and his colleagues analyzed more than 500,000 medical claims from employees who worked for one of 18 self-insured businesses that had access to the transparency platform between 2010 and 2013. The group wanted to compare payments for clinical services, including digital imaging, between patients who reviewed pricing on the website versus those who did not.

Roughly 7 percent of the 76,768 claims were associated with the platform, and study findings showed that the cost transparency system resulted in 13.15 percent lower claim payments for patients who searched the database before agreeing to an exam. The reduction amounted to a difference of $124.74 per imaging test.

Sood and his researchers indicated that the study does not determine whether patients were making "better" decisions, as the research did not collect quality of care or other non-price-related factors. However, increased transparency in associated costs could potentially lead to decreases in overall health care spending.

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