WIHI - A Podcast from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement

Date: June 17, 2010 Featuring: James R. Duncan, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Radiology and Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine Richard T. Griffey, MD, MPH, Associate Chief for Quality and Safety, Emergency Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine   Have you had a CT scan lately? Chances are good that you have. In fact, you may have even had some repeat CT scans for the same problem — often because the original scans couldn’t be found. Until recently, we’ve been so enamored of this powerful diagnostic technology that most of us haven’t thought twice about repeating a scan, or considered the benefits versus the risks. Not to mention the costs. But we’re learning that a lifetime of exposure likely contributes to a greater risk of cancer. And many CT scans just aren’t needed, contributing to vast overutilization and significant health care spending. One person’s expense is of course another’s revenue, patients demand the best imaging, and physicians have a hard time saying no. What