NASHVILLE, Tenn. - March 17, 2009

Radiology Benefits Management: Good for America’s Health and Economy

MedSolutions (www.medsolutions.com) supports President Obama’s vision of making health care affordable and accessible for all Americans. The inclusion of radiology benefits management process in the 2010 budget is evidence of a thoughtful approach that can work.

Radiology benefits management (RBM) services that use evidence-based appropriateness guidelines have proven to be the right approach for America’s healthcare system, benefitting individual healthcare consumers as well health benefits payers, reports MedSolutions, the leader in Intelligent Cost Management of medical services for health plans nationwide. RBM promotes access to affordable, quality services that are performed in the appropriate environments, ensures that the right imaging studies are performed at the right time with adherence to evidence-based guidelines, furthers patient safety by mitigating overexposure to radiation, and reduces unnecessary and duplicative testing.

“RBM as practiced by MedSolutions represents one of most compelling opportunities for our country to enhance patient care and significantly lower expenditures – a balancing act that is founded on the use of evidence-based medical guidelines to manage imaging services,” says Curt Thorne, CEO of MedSolutions. “An objective review of the facts creates a compelling argument for including RBM services for fee-for-service Medicare. Currently, 90 percent of commercial health plans and insurers, which provide the best coverage available in America, utilize RBM programs. The GAO studied the impact RBM’s are having in the private sector and recommended implementation in traditional Medicare.”

RBM offers significant benefits, including:

Promotes access to affordable, quality services
RBM ensures that imaging tests are run on current equipment that is properly functioning and performed by trained staff in an appropriate environment. As a result, testing is more likely to be performed correctly and within a physician’s scope of practice, eliminating the need for further studies to confirm or clarify results, saving downstream healthcare costs.

Right imaging studies at the right time
When imaging procedures are warranted by a patient’s condition, the right tests are among the best diagnostic tools available. RBM programs access clinical appropriateness of high-tech imaging technology, to help get the best test performed for the patient, and by bringing to each case evidence-based guidelines that are completed from research of America’s most respected institutions and researchers.

Furthers patient safety
Appropriate testing also protects patients from overexposure to radiation, a concern heightened by a new study from the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement, which concluded that Americans were exposed to seven times more radiation from medical procedures in 2006 than in the early 1980s. (http://www.ncrponline.org/Press_Rel/Rept_160_Press_Release.pdf)

Reduces unnecessary and duplicative testing
Unnecessary imaging costs have been estimated to be in the billions, as much as $26 billion annually, largely due to patient demand, physician uncertainty, or lack of information. RBM confronts waste with science. The approach is delivered exclusively under the supervision of medical doctors and is completely transparent.

RBM also addresses self referral by physicians who own and financially benefit from expensive MRI and CT exams performed on their patients. In-office imaging continues to grow as physician groups look to expand sources of practice revenue. In fact, studies indicate that physicians self-refer patients to owned equipment as much as four times more often when compared to practices without in-office equipment ownership. (https://www.asrt.org/Content/News/IndustryNewsBriefs/GenRes/imagingabu070613.aspx)

“RBM has proven to be the only successful approach for reducing waste and improving patient care with high-tech imaging.” concludes Thorne. “It is a key component of healthcare reform and one that can deliver immediate and long-term results.”

About MEDSOLUTIONS
MEDSOLUTIONS specializes in Intelligent Cost Management of medical services for national and regional health plans, as well as federal and state government agencies, maintaining management contracts for nearly 25 million individuals nationwide, including Medicare Advantage beneficiaries. Using robust data, predictive intelligence technology and clinical expertise, the Company’s innovative solutions are utilized for radiology benefit management and programs for oncology, ultrasound, cardiology, emergency room (ER), and diagnostic accuracy. MedSolutions has been twice recognized for its Call Center operations by the prestigious J. D. Power and Associates Award. Visit www.medsolutions.com.