Recent Trends in Utilization of Cardiovascular Imaging: How Important Are They for Radiology?

摘要

Purpose: To determine (a) the role cardiovascular imaging (CVI) plays within the spectrum of noninvasive diagnostic imaging (NDI), (b) the role radiologists play in CVI, and (c) recent trends in CVI workload among radiologists and cardiologists.Methods and Materials: The national Medicare Part B databases for the years 1993 and 2002 were used to identify all CPT-4 codes pertaining to NDI. Those codes relating specifically to noninvasive CVI were grouped together in seven categories. The 2002 Medicare total professional component relative value units (RVUs) were then used to determine RVU rates per 1,000 Medicare beneficiaries as a measure of physician work for each code. The percentage of all NDI RVUs accruing to CVI in 2002 were calculated. Also calculated were the 9-year changes in RVU rates for each of the seven CVI categories, and the changes in those rates among radiologists and cardiologists.