Data from Emory University Advance Knowledge in Radiology (Use of Screening Ct Colonography By Age and Race: a Study of Potential Access Barriers Related To Medicare Noncoverage Based On Data From the Acr’s National Ct Colonography Registry)

Health Policy and Law Daily

2021 FEB 25 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health Policy and Law Daily -- A new study on Medical Imaging - Radiology is now available. According to news reporting from Atlanta, Georgia, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “The primary objectives of this investigation were to evaluate the use of screening CT colonography (CTC) examinations by age comparing individuals of Medicare-eligible age to younger cohorts and to determine if the association between use of CTC and Medicare-eligible age varies by race. Although the Affordable Care Act requires commercial insurance coverage of screening CTC, Medicare does not cover screening CTC.”

Financial support for this research came from ACR’s National Radiology Data Registry (NRDR).

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from Emory University, “Using the ACR’s CTC registry, the distribution of procedures by age was evaluated using a negative binomial model with patient age (to capture overall trend), indicator of Medicare-eligible age (to capture immediate changes in trend at age 65), and their interaction (to capture gradual changes after age 65) as independent variables. The association between the number of screening CTCs and age was compared by racial identity. The CTC registry contained data on 12,648 screening examinations. Between ages 52 and 64, the number of screening examinations increased; each additional age year was associated with a 5.3% (P < .001) increase in the number of screenings. However, after age 65, the number of screening examinations decreased by -6.9% per additional year of age above 65 compared with the trend between ages 52 and 64 (P < .001). The modal age group for CTC use was 65 to 69 years in white and 55 to 59 in black individuals. After age 65, the number of screening CTC examinations decreased, likely due, at least in part, to lack of Medicare coverage.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Medicare noncoverage may have a disproportionate impact on black patients and other racial minorities.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Use of Screening Ct Colonography By Age and Race: a Study of Potential Access Barriers Related To Medicare Noncoverage Based On Data From the Acr’s National Ct Colonography Registry. Journal of the American College of Radiology, 2021;18(1):19-26. Journal of the American College of Radiology can be contacted at: Elsevier Science Inc, Ste 800, 230 Park Ave, New York, NY 10169, USA. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Journal of the American College of Radiology - http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-the-american-college-of-radiology/)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Courtney C. Moreno, Emory University, School of Medicine, Acr Ct Colonog Registry Committee, Atlanta, GA, United States. Additional authors for this research include Judy Yee, Abraham H. Dachman, Richard Duszak, Michal Horny and Lenka Goldman.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacr.2020.09.043. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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