Use of CDs Could Reduce Unnecessary Imaging

Rather than integrate diagnostic imaging into a hospital-to-hospital transfer network or universal medical records, hospitals could reduce unnecessary scans simply by loading images onto CDs, according to a report by DOTmed.

Transporting CD-ROMs with diagnostic images to patients switched between hospital EDs could eliminate half a million unnecessary CT procedures every year, according to a study in Radiology.

A study found that patients transferred between EDs whose images were imported into a picture archiving and communication system by the receiving hospital had a 17 percent decrease in imaging over the next day.

If the method were applied to all 2.2 million patients transferred between EDs each year, it could reduce CT use by 484,000 scans annually.

Read the DOTmed News report on imaging.

Read more coverage of imaging:

- OIG Report: Medicare Erroneously Allowed $38M in Claims for Outpatient ED Imaging

- MedPAC Recommends Strategies to Combat Imaging Overuse

- Five Colorado Providers Agree to Partner in Health Information Exchange

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