Journal of the American College of Radiology
Volume 7, Issue 3 , Pages 187-191 , March 2010

Trends in PET Scanner Ownership and Leasing by Nonradiologist Physicians

  • Rajan Agarwal, MD, MBA

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author and reprints: Rajan Agarwal, MD, MBA, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Department of Radiology, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
    • ,
  • David C. Levin, MD

      Affiliations

    • Center for Research on Utilization of Imaging Services, Department of Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    • HealthHelp, Inc, Houston, Texas
    • ,
  • Laurence Parker, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Center for Research on Utilization of Imaging Services, Department of Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    • ,
  • Vijay M. Rao, MD

      Affiliations

    • Center for Research on Utilization of Imaging Services, Department of Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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. Levin DC, Rao VM. Turf wars in radiology: the overutilization of imaging resulting from self-referral. J Am Coll Radiol. 2004;1:169–172
  5. Levin DC, Rao VM. Turf wars in radiology: updated evidence on the relationship between self-referral and the overutilization of imaging. J Am Coll Radiol. 2008;5:652–656
  6. Gazelle GS, Halpern EF, Ryan HS, Tramontano AC. Utilization of diagnostic medical imaging: comparison of radiologist referral versus same-specialty referral. Radiology. 2007;245:517–522
  7. Hillman BJ, Joseph CA, Mabry MR, Sunshine JH, Kennedy SD, Noether M. Frequency and costs of diagnostic imaging in office practice—a comparison of self-referring and radiologist-referring physicians. N Engl J Med. 1990;323:1604–1608
  8. Hillman BJ, Olson GT, Griffith PE, et al. Physicians' utilization and charges for outpatient diagnostic imaging in a Medicare population. JAMA. 1992;268:2050–2054
  9. Mitchell JM. The prevalence of physician self-referral arrangements after Stark II: evidence from advanced diagnostic imaging (Health Aff). http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/ abstract/hlthaff.26.3.w415Accessed December 28, 2007
  10. Mitchell JM. Utilization trends for advanced imaging procedures (Evidence from individuals with private insurance coverage in California). Med Care. 2008;46:460–466
  11. Levin DC, Rao VM, Parker L, Frangos AJ, Sunshine JH. Ownership or leasing of MRI facilities by nonradiologist physicians is a rapidly growing trend. J Am Coll Radiol. 2008;5:105–109
  12. Levin DC, Rao VM, Parker L, Frangos AJ, Sunshine JH. Ownership or leasing of CT facilities by nonradiologist physicians: a rapidly growing trend that raises concern about self-referral. J Am Coll Radiol. 2008;5:1206–1209
  13. Solucient Report (Top growth areas in the outpatient market). http://www.solucient.com/docs/OutpatientView_WP.pdfAccessed January 5, 2010

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

PII: S1546-1440(09)00489-X

doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2009.10.001

Journal of the American College of Radiology
Volume 7, Issue 3 , Pages 187-191 , March 2010

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