Physicians are more likely to order cardiac stress imaging procedures when they own the imaging equipment, according a study from Duke University Medical Center.
The study found that physicians who are reimbursed for performing the test with their technology and then interpreting the results were 50-100 percent more likely to order cardiac imaging tests on patients compared to those physicians who are only reimbursed for professional fees or who do not bill for these procedures at all.
When physicians don't own the equipment, they are reimbursed for professional fees, which cover time spent interpreting or supervising the visits. When they do own the equipment, physicians are paid for technical fees that cover facility and equipment costs in addition to professional fees.
"The use of cardiac imaging technology has grown rapidly in this country and there is a lot of variation among physicians in terms of when and why they are used," Bimal Shah, MD, a cardiologist, assistant professor of medicine at Duke and lead author of the study, said in the release. "For the first time, we show that financial reimbursement structures may be yet another factor associated with this variation in testing behavior."
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The study found that physicians who are reimbursed for performing the test with their technology and then interpreting the results were 50-100 percent more likely to order cardiac imaging tests on patients compared to those physicians who are only reimbursed for professional fees or who do not bill for these procedures at all.
When physicians don't own the equipment, they are reimbursed for professional fees, which cover time spent interpreting or supervising the visits. When they do own the equipment, physicians are paid for technical fees that cover facility and equipment costs in addition to professional fees.
"The use of cardiac imaging technology has grown rapidly in this country and there is a lot of variation among physicians in terms of when and why they are used," Bimal Shah, MD, a cardiologist, assistant professor of medicine at Duke and lead author of the study, said in the release. "For the first time, we show that financial reimbursement structures may be yet another factor associated with this variation in testing behavior."
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