The economic impact of technology on diagnostic imaging at a university medical center

Department of Radiology, Washington University Medical Center, St. Louis, MO 63110.

Diagnostic imaging procedures and charges were analyzed for the most recent 15 years (1973-1988) and projected for 5 years in the future (1993) by using recent trends in a large, university-based radiology institute. During the 20 years, procedure volume doubles, total charges increase by a factor of 10 without adjusting for inflation and by a factor of three after adjusting for inflation. The major reason for the increase in charges is a change in the mix of procedures with increasing emphasis on new technology (CT, MR, sonography, and nuclear radiology) and interventional procedures. New technology and interventional procedures will change from 5% of total procedures in 1973 to a projected 27% in 1993. These more complex and more costly procedures have resulted in a considerably higher share of the charges for radiology and are projected to be responsible for 73% of a $109 million total charge by 1993. The charges for traditional radiology procedures have risen at approximately the inflation rate. These data document that the considerable benefit derived from new technology is associated with considerable cost and that new technology procedures are a major economic factor in modern diagnostic imaging.
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