Reports on Managed Care Findings from Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute Provide New Insights (Self-Interpretation of Imaging Studies by Ordering Providers: Frequency and Associated Provider and Practice Characteristics): Managed Care

2026 MAY 22 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New research on Managed Care is the subject of a report. According to news originating from Reston, Virginia, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, .” Imaging self-interpretation refers to interpretation of an imaging study by the study’s ordering provider.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute, “This phenomenon warrants scrutiny given non-radiologists’ limited training in imaging interpretation. . The purpose of the study was to evaluate the frequency of self-interpretation of office-based diagnostic imaging by ordering providers and assess associations of ordering provider and practice characteristics with self-interpretation, with-in-practice interpretation, and radiologist interpretation. . This retrospective study used the CMS 5% Research Identifiable File for calendar year 2022 to identify claims for office-based nonbreast diagnostic imaging ordered by nonradiologists for a nationally representative sample of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries. Ordering provider and practice characteristics were extracted from the Medicare Data on Provider Practice and Specialty dataset. Self-interpretation, within-practice interpretation, and radiologist interpretation were summarized. Logistic regression models were used to assess associations with self-interpretation and within-practice interpretation for six selected combinations of ordering provider specialty and modality with high imaging volumes. . The study included 1,632,212 imaging claims. The unadjusted self-interpretation, within-practice, and radiologist interpretation rates overall were 43.6%, 58.5%, and 36.4%, respectively. The unadjusted self-interpretation rate was 50.4% for radiography and fluoroscopy, 52.0% for ultrasound, 5.2% for CT, 6.1% for MRI, and 39.5% for nuclear medicine. The adjusted odds of self-interpretation were lower for providers with versus without a within-practice radiologist for five of six selected specialty-modality combinations (lowest odds for nonphysician practitioner-ordered radiography and fluoroscopy: OR = 0.44) and lower for providers in the largest versus the smallest practices for all selected combinations (lowest odds for orthopedic surgery and sports medicine [orthopedic/sports]-ordered MRI: OR = 0.01). The adjusted odds of with-in-practice interpretation were higher for providers in practices with versus without a within-practice radiologist for five of six selected combinations (highest odds for orthopedic/sports physician-ordered MRI: OR = 8.15). Across practice sizes, the unadjusted rate of radiologist interpretation for radiography and fluoroscopy ranged from 15.5% to 36.2% and from 24.9% to 61.1% for ordering providers in practices with versus without a within-practice radiologist, respectively. . Self-interpretation by nonradiologist ordering providers occurred for 43.6% of office-based imaging studies and, in general, was less likely for large practices or practices with a within-practice radiologist. .”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Ongoing health care consolidation may partially address the current high rate of imaging self-interpretation by potentially allowing access to a with-in-practice radiologist.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Self-Interpretation of Imaging Studies by Ordering Providers: Frequency and Associated Provider and Practice Characteristics. American Journal of Roentgenology, 2025;224(6). American Journal of Roentgenology can be contacted at: Amer Roentgen Ray Soc, 44211 Slatestone Ct, Leesburg, VA, USA.

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from Chi-Mei Liu, Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute, 1892 Preston White Dr, Reston, VA 20191. Additional authors for this research include Eric W. Christensen, Elizabeth Y. Rula and Vijay M. Rao.

The publisher’s contact information for the American Journal of Roentgenology is: Amer Roentgen Ray Soc, 44211 Slatestone Ct, Leesburg, VA, USA.

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