Imaging research efforts place focus on clinical effectiveness

April 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Imaging research efforts place focus on clinical effectiveness RESEARCH TO PRACTICE James Brice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The early months of 2008 were unsettling for physicians with an interest in cardiac CT. In a sense, the year began for these radiologists and cardiologists with the Jan. 12 deadline to comment on Medicare's controversial proposal to establish a national coverage determination for cardiac CT. The plan would wipe out 50 state-level coverage determinations, acquired in record time in 2006, that enable providers to bill Medicare for these procedures. More galling for CCT supporters, the national coverage determination proposed a "Coverage with Evidence Development" (CED) requirement for coronary CT angiography performed on patients with stable or unstable angina and an intermediate risk of coronary artery syndrome. The CED would limit payment to only those facilities that engage in a Medicare-approved clinical trial addressing questions about the procedure's clinical efficacy.

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