Determinants of acquisition of MR imaging units in an era of prospective payment.
A survey was undertaken to examine the impact of Medicare's Prospective Payment System (PPS) and other recent changes in the health care environment on providers' decisions regarding acquisition of high-cost technologic equipment. The survey group included 199 hospitals and freestanding imaging centers known to have acquired magnetic resonance (MR) imaging units, as well as a random sample of 400 hospitals whose acquisition decisions were unknown to the authors. Fifty-eight percent of the known adopters and 61% of the randomly selected hospitals responded to the survey. Nonadopters' decisions were dominated by economic considerations, including the high cost of MR imagers and concerns about Medicare's reimbursement policies. Competition and a desire to provide the highest quality of care are counterbalancing the retardant effects of PPS, however, and are stimulating widespread diffusion of MR imagers.
Steinberg
E P
EP
Division of Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD 21205.
Stason
W B
WB
diMonda
R
R
Schroeder
S A
SA
D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D006742:Hospital Bed Capacity; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D011445:Prospective Payment System; D011682:Purchasing, Hospital / Q000191:economics