Rising Use Of Diagnostic Medical Imaging In A Large Integrated Health System

TLDR

Diagnostic imaging use has risen dramatically over the past decade, yet specific patterns of this increase remain underreported. The study examined 4.9 million diagnostic tests performed on 377,048 patients in a large health plan between 1997 and 2006. Cross‑sectional imaging, CT, and MRI use nearly doubled or tripled, added to existing studies rather than replacing them, and more than doubled annual radiology costs, raising both costs and radiation exposure.

Abstract

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.