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Even if you’ve never had one, most people know what a CT (computer tomography) or an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) are.  Either you’ve had one of these or perhaps you know someone who has.  According to a recently published study, the use of CT scans and MRI’s has doubled, which in turn raises the cost of patient care.  What’s worse is that these tests may give you no more valuable information than could have been received from an x-ray or another alternative type of test.

The study conducted spanned 10 years and covered patients who were enrolled in the Group Health Cooperative, an HMO in Washington State between the years 1997 and 2006.  Data from 377,000 patients who had been subject to over 5 million diagnostic tests.

Cost for all types of imaging tests has risen, with the cost per patient increasing from $229 to $443.  A study that was released in July conducted by the Government Accountability Office found that medical imaging spending for Medicare had doubled to $14 billion per year from 2000 to 2006.

Neither of the studies focused on whether or not the imaging tests were actually needed to diagnose the patient.  However, one is to assume that many patients are being exposed unnecessarily to radiation from unneeded tests and that the cost of health care is rising because of it as well.

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