MRI backlash: Crackdown on costs of imaging

“Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, based in Wellesley, Mass., started a preauthorization program in July. Practices are required to submit information to National Imaging Associates, a radiology utilization management firm based in New Jersey, before ordering a test. About 10% of the time, doctors end up having to discuss the case with a National Imaging Associates representative, who may suggest a different course of action instead of the imaging test, Harvard Pilgrim officials said.”

I agree that the increasing utilization of high-end radiology needs to be controlled. However, this program of pre-authorization puts me back in residency all over again – when I had to call the radiology resident to approve an MRI or CT scan. I guess some things never change.