January 9, 2012 – Uninsured patients, and those with Medicaid, receive far fewer imaging services than those with private insurance during emergency department (ED) visits, according to a study in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

The higher use of EDs by persons without health insurance is well documented. Previous studies have found that ED visits are more likely for the uninsured, persons below the 100 percent federal poverty level and those in poorer health.

“On average, Americans without health insurance receive fewer healthcare services than those with insurance. However, the specific types of services for which the uninsured face access and utilization deficits are not well understood,” said Kimberly E. Applegate, M.D., MS, lead author of the study.

The main database used for the study was the 2004 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. The survey contained two fields critical to the study: source of payment, and imaging services rendered and ordered by the referring ED doctor during the ED visit. Compared with comparable insured persons, non-elderly uninsured and Medicaid patients received fewer services in the ED. Similar results were found for the value of imaging services received.

“These results suggest that insurance status influences how much imaging and the intensity of imaging patients receive,” said Applegate. “Whether insured patients receive unnecessary imaging or uninsured and Medicaid patients receive too little imaging is not clear,” she said.

For more information: www.jacr.org.

 


Related Content

News | PET-CT

June 19, 2025 — Building on a collaboration that spans more than three decades, GE HealthCare has renewed its research ...

Time June 19, 2025
arrow
News | Lung Imaging

April, 15, 2025 — Optellum has entered an agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb to leverage AI in early diagnosis and ...

Time April 17, 2025
arrow
News | Pediatric Imaging

April 10, 2025 — Cincinnati Children’s and GE HealthCare will form a strategic research program focused on driving ...

Time April 10, 2025
arrow
News | SPECT Imaging

Feb. 5, 2025 — Serac Healthcare Ltd., a clinical radiopharmaceutical company developing an innovative molecular imaging ...

Time February 05, 2025
arrow
News | Computed Tomography (CT)

Dec. 3, 2024 — During RSNA '24, GE HealthCare announced the 510(k) submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ...

Time December 18, 2024
arrow
News | SPECT Imaging

Dec. 2, 2024 — GE HealthCare has agreed to acquire full ownership of Nihon Medi-Physics Co., Ltd (NMP), by purchasing ...

Time December 05, 2024
arrow
News | Computed Tomography (CT)

At the annual AHRA (American Healthcare Radiology Administrators) conference in Orlando, Florida, Bayer announced an ...

Time August 09, 2024
arrow
Videos | Radiology Business

Find actionable insights to achieve sustainability and savings in radiology in this newest of ITN’s “One on One” video ...

Time July 30, 2024
arrow
News | Radiology Business

July 25, 2024 — Immunis, Inc., a clinical-stage biotech developing groundbreaking secretome therapeutics for age and ...

Time July 25, 2024
arrow
News | Radiopharmaceuticals and Tracers

July 24, 2024 — Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited announced that the United States (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ...

Time July 24, 2024
arrow
Subscribe Now