Ultrasound use shifts among radiologists, nonphysician practitioners

Ultrasound use has shifted over the past decade, including whether radiologists, surgeons, or nonphysicians practitioners perform the exams, a study published on  December 13 in the American Journal of Roentgenology found. Researchers led by Casey Pelzl from the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute in Reston, VA, found that office ultrasound services have been mostly performed by radiologists while hospital outpatient and inpatient services have been performed more by cardiologists and cardiac surgeons. Additionally, nonphysician practitioners have become increasingly present in ultrasound services. “These shifts may reflect changes in relative utilization of specialty-specific examinations or evolving payment policies favoring reimbursement in certain locations for particular examinations,” Pelzl and colleagues wrote. Ultrasound has a variety of applications across medical specialties, so much so that its technological evolution and increasing use may be causing shifts in how the modality is being used in clinical practices.  That’s what the Pelzl team wanted to find out. It described shifts in ultrasound use across billing provider specialties and places of service in the U.S. from 2009 to 2021. The researchers used annual datasets from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)/Supplier Procedure Summary within the study period. These summarized all national calendar-year Medicare Part B carrier and durable medical equipment fee-for-service claims....
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Ultrasound Source Type: news