Facilities “never have to publicly commit to specific prices,” he noted. Instead, “they can vary the threshold of what they will accept for a test based on scanner availability and other factors.”

Costs are an increasingly important issue for scanning facilities and healthcare in general, and the digital realm is where many are looking to make cost savings as well as more efficient, effective care. In May, the issue was in the news when an Indiana University report found that health information exchanges (HIE) reduced both the cost of healthcare and its use.


The report found that overall HIE's led to fewer duplicated procedures, reduced imaging, lower costs and better patient safety.

"Up until this point, the promise of health information exchanges to improve care and reduce costs has been theoretical," reported lead author Nir Menachemi, a professor in the Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI. "We now have reasonably strong evidence that there are benefits to using health information exchanges."

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