Changing Musculoskeletal Extremity Imaging Utilization From 1994 Through 2013: A Medicare Beneficiary Perspective

Abstract

In the Medicare population, the most common musculoskeletal extremity imaging modalities increased substantially in utilization over the 2-decade period from 1994 through 2013. Throughout that time, radiology remained the most common billing specialty, and the physician office and hospital outpatient settings remained the most common sites of service. These insights may have implications for radiology practice leaders in making decisions regarding capital infrastructure, workforce, and training investments to ensure the provision of optimal imaging services for extremity musculoskeletal care.

Optimal utilization of MSK imaging during COVID-19 pandemic

“…Musculo-Skeletal (MSK) Radiology plays a crucial role in the evaluation of bone and joint diseases and traumatic injuries. 1 , 2 The imaging armamentarium in MSK Radiology includes wide range of options, right from the humble plain radiograph to advanced functional MRI sequences. Due to high soft tissue resolution, Magnetic resonance imaging offers non-invasive delineation of soft tissues with high accuracy.…”

Providing Value-Based Service to a Sprawling Orthopaedics Practice

“…Because few outpatient imaging centers offer MSK ultrasound, it can serve as a valuable tool to get patients into the imaging center. 42,43 Many clinicians, podiatrists, pain physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners have frustrating difficulty getting MRIs authorized, so they often order a MSK ultrasound and count on the subspecialty radiologist to recommend further imaging when warranted. Basic ultrasound-guided intervention can also be offered, performed, and coded at imaging centers in close proximity to orthopaedic offices.…”

The Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Evaluation of Knee Pathology

“…Sports-related knee injuries alone account for > 2.5.million emergency department visits annually, 1 and increasingly, clinicians are relying on the results of musculoskeletal (MSK) imaging to guide diagnosis and management. 2 Interpretation of advanced MSK imaging is both labor intensive and subject to reader variability even when interpreted by subspecialty trained MSK radiologists, partly attributed to the large quantity of data presented by each study and the level of imaging detail. 3 The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms into the workflow of MSK radiology holds the potential to improve diagnostic accuracy, expedite cases with urgent findings, reduce reader fatigue, and provide decision support where radiology expertise is unavailable.…”