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Previously published data indicate that physicians with diagnostic imaging facilities in their offices are more likely to order imaging procedures than physicians who refer patients to radiologists for those procedures. Researchers explored this issue further using a claims database from a large U.S. health plan, representing 18 million episodes of outpatient care. Six medical conditions and corresponding imaging procedures were examined.
Physicians who referred patients to themselves (or to same-specialty colleagues who presumably were their partners) ordered significantly more diagnostic imaging tests than physicians who referred patients to radiologists. Self-referring physicians generated more than twice as many chest x-rays (for cardiop…