Journal of the American College of Radiology
Volume 5, Issue 2 , Pages 105-109 , February 2008

Ownership or Leasing of MRI Facilities by Nonradiologist Physicians Is a Rapidly Growing Trend

  • David C. Levin, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
    • HealthHelp, Inc., Houston, Texas.
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author and reprints: David C. Levin, MD, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Department of Radiology, 1090 Main, Philadelphia, PA 19107
    • ,
  • Vijay M. Rao, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
    • ,
  • Laurence Parker, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
    • ,
  • Andrea J. Frangos, MS

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
    • ,
  • Jonathan H. Sunshine, PhD

      Affiliations

    • American College of Radiology, Reston, Virginia.

References 

  1. Iglehart JK. The new era of medical imaging- progress and pitfalls. N Engl J Med. 2006;354:2822–2828
  2. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Payment for imaging services under the Medicare physician fee schedule, Herb Kuhn, director, CMM: House Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. http://www.cms.gov/apps/media/press/testimony.asp?counter=1903Accessed May 29, 2007
  3. Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. 2004 Medical Cost Reference Guide. http://athensbenefits.com/pdf/2004_12_13_blue_cross_blue_shield_medical_cost_reference_guide.pdfAccessed May 29, 2007
  4. Hillman BJ, Olsen GT, Griffith PE, et al. Physicians’ utilization and charges for outpatient diagnostic imaging in a Medicare population. JAMA. 1992;268:2050–2054
  5. Referrals to physician-owned imaging facilities warrant HCFA’s scrutiny: report to the chairman, Subcommittee on Health, Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives (GAO/HEHS-95-2). Washington, DC: US General Accounting Office; 1994;
  6. Levin DC, Intenzo CM, Rao VM, Frangos AJ, Parker L, Sunshine JH. Comparison of recent utilization trends in radionuclide myocardial perfusion imaging among radiologists and cardiologists. J Am Coll Radiol. 2005;2:821–824
  7. Levin DC, Rao VM. Turf wars in radiology: the overutilization of imaging resulting from self-referral. J Am Coll Radiol. 2004;1:169–172
  8. Mitchell JM. The prevalence of physician self-referral arrangements after Stark II: evidence from advanced diagnostic imaging. Health Aff. 2007;26:w415–w424http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/hlthaff.26.3.w415v1Accessed August 13, 2007
  9. Japsen B. Doctors’ MRI deals a “sham”, state says. The Chicago Tribune. 2007;May 10
  10. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Medicare program; proposed revisions to payment policies under the Physician Fee Schedule, and other Part B payment policies for CY 2008. Fed Reg. 2007;72(133):38179;http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/07-3274.pdfAccessed August 14, 2007

 This study was supported in part by a grant from the American College of Radiology, Reston, Va.

PII: S1546-1440(07)00572-8

doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2007.09.017

Journal of the American College of Radiology
Volume 5, Issue 2 , Pages 105-109 , February 2008

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