You ever get a pain in your back? When you get that pain do
you go to the doctor? Over a long period there seems to have been an increase
in unnecessary diagnostic imaging
procedures over the last several years. It’s a sad thing to see but it’s the
truth. There was an article published in diagnosticimaging.com which stated
that “Using
information obtained from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and the
National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, researchers from Beth Israel
Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston studied 23,918
outpatient visits for spine problems, representing an estimated 440 million visits
total over the 11-year period.” The percentages showed that testing such as MRI and CT scans improved for
back pain.
The period covered 1999 to 2010 and it shows that the treatment is not
only costly but misused in some occasions. When you think that the nearly
24,000 visits used were only a fraction of 440 million and what they
represented as far as patterns, it’s mind-boggling. If all 440 million visits
were studied it’s fair to say that the ultimate result would be a major misuse
of scans for issues that are non-complex and have a fairly easy resolution.
When it comes to situations like muscle spasms, broken bones, and certain
pains, not everyone agrees with using scans to determine a course of action.
Dr. James Andrews doesn’t agree with using an MRI in order to determine course
of action for sports related injuries. Fractures and injuries can be serious
but while a bone may never be the same, an injury won’t return on its own,
unlike cancer or another complex condition.
It’s vital that diagnostic imaging not be abused and misused when
dealing with the patients. CT Scanners and MRI scanners along
with the X-Ray all serve the purpose of helping the patient, not bleeding the
patient dry. Hopefully the use of imaging unnecessarily will cease with this type
of discovery. It’s unfortunate to see this type of occurrence.
As time passes and there’s an improvement on technology chances are that
this practice will all but disappear entirely.
If you have any questions about diagnostic imaging procedures please
feel free to give us a call. We at Clermont Radiology look forward to answering
any questions you may have.
Charla
Hurst General
Operations Manager
Operations Manager
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