The study, published Aug. 14 in JAMA Network Open, conducted a survey of 1,069 physicians and advanced practice providers in 2021 and analyzed historical claims data from 5,000 diagnostic and procedural codes from 2019.
They found that 10.3 percentage points of commercial and 10.9 percentage points of Medicare volume that take place in hospital settings could be shifted to alternative care sites. With today’s technology, that change could save healthcare consumption spending by between $113.8 billion to $147.7 billion and not compromise clinical outcomes.
“These findings suggest that while a substantial net savings opportunity may remain from site-of-care shifts, ongoing alignment among organizations, clinicians, and policymakers is needed to ensure the best outcomes for patients,” Nikhil Sahni, with the department of economics at Cambridge, Mass.-based Harvard University, and co-authors wrote in a commentary piece published Aug. 14.
The commercial side has already made strides to move radiology services out of hospitals. Between 2010 and 2021, the number of alternative care sites for radiology doubled due to private equity and venture capital.
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