title: National and local trends in CT colonography reimbursement: past, present, and future.
abstract: Computed tomographic colonography (CTC) was first introduced in the mid-1990s as a minimally invasive technology for colorectal cancer screening. Given its potential to significantly change colorectal cancer screening practices in the United States, it has attracted widespread multidisciplinary interest among radiologists, gastroenterologists, colorectal surgeons, and primary care physicians. Because of its potential for widespread utilization and the potential associated costs, it has also attracted much scrutiny from payers. The authors discuss the coding and reimbursement history of CTC, outline strategies for obtaining local coverage for CTC, and attempt to outline some of the possible future influences on CTC reimbursement.
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan Medical Center, Department of Radiology, 1500 E Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0302, USA. knechtge@med.umic.edu
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Knechtges
authors.forename: Beth G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: McFarland
authors.forename: Kathryn J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Keysor
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Duszak
authors.forename: Matthew A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Barish
authors.forename: Ruth C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Carlos
mesh_terms: D014487:Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. / Q000191:economics*; D023881:Colonography, Computed Tomographic / Q000191:economics*; D018588:Fee-for-Service Plans / Q000191:economics* / Q000639:trends*; D005544:Forecasting; D007349:Insurance, Health, Reimbursement / Q000191:economics* / Q000639:trends*; D014481:United States