A recent study from Epic Research found that more than 5.8 million potentially redundant imaging orders were prevented in a single year, saving healthcare providers time and money while reducing unnecessary radiation exposure.

Medicare data indicates that imaging services accounted for 8% of total Medicare Part B expenditures in 2019, totaling nearly $64 billion. Epic estimates that preventing unnecessary imaging could result in annual savings of $310 million to $523 million if the scans were low-cost X-rays. If half were more expensive tests, such as MR exams with contrast, the savings could range from $1.5 billion to $2.6 billion.

The study analyzed more than 32.4 million duplicate imaging notifications between April 2023 and April 2024. Providers using Epic’s EHR received alerts when an imaging order matched a recent study in the system, allowing them to decide whether to proceed. Monthly, between 400,000 and 500,000 duplicate orders were either canceled or left unplaced.
The study also highlighted the growing impact of interoperability in reducing redundant orders. In 2021, Epic introduced external duplicate order checks through its Happy Together Imaging and Duplicate Checks Everywhere features. This allowed notifications to factor-in imaging studies conducted outside a provider’s immediate health system. By April 2024, notifications triggered by external imaging exams had increased by 160%, reaching nearly 246,000 alerts over the study period.

Epic’s Care Everywhere framework, which facilitates interoperability, now connects more than 3,000 hospitals and over 774,000 physicians across the U.S. The findings suggest that continued adoption of cross-system duplicate order checks could lead to further reductions in unnecessary imaging, lowering healthcare costs and minimizing patient exposure to radiation.

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