Science / Medicine : Doctors With Equipment Test More
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Doctors who have their own X-ray and ultrasound devices conduct far more imaging tests on patients and charge more for them than physicians who refer the work to radiologists, researchers said last week.
Analysis of 65,517 private health insurance claims filed for care provided by 6,419 doctors found those with their own equipment conducted four times more procedures for four common conditions than those who referred the work to others, said Dr. Bruce Hillman of the University Medical Center in Tucson, Ariz.
