Greater Cost Savings

Medical imaging fosters greater economy and savings—through less-invasive care, fewer complications, shorter hospital stays, and better patient management.

• Image-guided core needle biopsy takes one-fifth the time of surgical biopsy-and costs less than half.
• Image-guided renal angioplasty costs 20 percent of what open surgery costs and virtually eliminates hospital stays.
• PET scans can eliminate half of the futile surgeries for lung-cancer patients.
• CT scans can reduce unneeded surgeries for patients suspected of appendicitis.
• Imaging information systems help providers eliminate unneeded tests.

Medical imaging helps keep workers healthy and on the job—by helping them avoid surgery, long recuperation, and disability.

• Uterine fibroid embolization, guided by imaging, allows women to recover in a week versus six weeks-reducing the 5-10 million annual workdays lost due to fibroids.
• Image-guided procedures have virtually replaced open surgical biopsy for tumors of the brain, chest, abdomen, pelvis, and bone-so patients get back to work sooner.
• Non-surgical radiation delivery systems provide targeted cancer therapy, with a quick return to normal activities.
• CT, MRI, and other imaging tests help employers save disability and rehabilitation costs by identifying stroke early, thus enabling cost-saving and life-saving treatment.

Medical imaging is a core component of the digital revolution—enabling productivity gains through electronic health records, rapid access to images, and greater information and flexibility.

• Digital imaging information systems store images electronically, enabling physicians to access images from multiple locations and view images simultaneously.
• Digital imaging allows a patient's medical images to be included in the electronic health record-a valuable aid in helping physicians fully understand the patient's history and medical needs.
• Digital imaging enables telemedicine, which allows patients in rural or distant areas to gain access to imaging expertise electronically and physicians to consult with one another electronically.
• Digital imaging allows physicians greater flexibility in adjusting images, such as improving contrast, to provide more detail or information.

For more information, go to www.medicalimaging.org.