The Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) is very concerned that the Government Accountability Office (GAO), in its recent report entitled "Medicare Part B Imaging Services- Rapid Spending Growth and Shift to Physician Offices Indicate Need for CMS to Consider Additional Management Practices," failed to acknowledge that medical imaging is a valuable service to patients. Instead, GAO focuses almost solely on growth in utilization of diagnostic imaging services, without describing the benefits of imaging to the patient.
"SCCT recognizes that imaging growth is a legitimate public policy issue. The various cardiovascular societies have provided tools and resources to guide members in the responsible utilization of diagnostic imaging services, including clinical guidelines and appropriateness criteria," said Daniel S. Berman, MD, president-elect, SCCT. "Unfortunately, GAO chose not to mention any of these efforts that likely play a role in the absence of increased utilization in the most recent years."
"Further, the GAO study asserts that imaging over-utilization is largely attributable to inappropriate self referral practices. This is not substantiated by the report. There is also no examination of whether the growth is appropriate, and until such a study is conducted, we will not know how much imaging is over-utilized, and importantly, circumstances in which it is underutilized for patients that should receive tests," Berman said.
SCCT will continue to act on behalf of patients and work to ensure the appropriate use of coronary computed tomography angiography, the most accurate, non-invasive imaging tool for the detection of coronary artery disease.
