Use of PET imaging tests on the rise
Contemporary Long-Term Care Weekly, April 29, 2010
From 1999 to 2006, the amount of positron emission tomography (PET) tests for elderly cancer patients increased by more than one-third each year, with scans for Medicare patients growing by an annual average of 39.5% to 53.6% (depending on the cancer type), according to a Duke University study. The study included claims data from approximately 101,000 Medicare patients, reports Bloomberg Businessweek.
Each test, which uses small amounts of radioactive material to reveal tissue and organ functions, costs about $2,000. In 2006 alone, over $104 billion in U.S. medical spending was attributed to cancer treatment. Imaging tests make up 6% of total Medicare cancer costs, the study found. During the course of the study, cancer treatment costs rose from 1.8% to 4.6% each year.
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