Unnecessary Testing?
Reported September 15, 2008
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — Hospitals that perform nuclear stress tests on the heart may be wasting time and money.
A new study looked at 375 patients who underwent nuclear stress testing at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. It showed 21 of the patients should not have received the test because their patient profile and assessment didnt meet the test criteria under the national guidelines. While these patients were considered low risk for nuclear testing, none required additional testing such as a cardiac catheterization and 95 percent of the scans in the group turned up normal.
The criteria aid physicians in identifying whether a patient should receive a nuclear test based on their medical history. There are 52 criteria outlining when a test is appropriate.
We believe there is potential for substantial savings provided hospitals closely adhere to these test-appropriateness criteria for cardiac nuclear testing, Dr. Karthik Anath, M.D., a Henry Ford cardiologist and the studys senior author was quoted as saying.
Researchers say further study will be required to determine the cost analysis. Roughly eight million nuclear tests are performed nationally, nearly double from 10 years ago. Patients are exposed to a small amount of radiation during the four-hour test, which costs about $4,000. Most insurance plans pay for the test.
A cardiac nuclear test is a non-invasive procedure that measures arterial blood flow to the heart during physical or chemical stress. When compared to blood flow during rest, the test reflects imbalances of blood flow to the hearts left ventricular muscle tissue – the part of the heart that performs the greatest amount of work pumping blood.
SOURCE: Study presented at the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology Conference in Boston, MA, on September 12th.
