WASHINGTON – A new imaging E-ordering coalition has launched a national initiative to promote healthcare information technology-enabled decision-support (e-Ordering) as a way to ensure that all patients receive the most medically appropriate diagnostic imaging test for their specific condition.

Between $3 billion and $10 billion annually is wasted on unnecessary imaging procedures, according to the coalition, which is made up of healthcare providers, technology companies and diagnostic imaging organizations.

The Imaging e-Ordering Coalition aims to shape policy and work with lawmakers and stakeholders to address two major issues associated with medical imaging – excessive radiation risks for patients and unnecessary costs related to the wrong tests being given by physicians.

It plans to scope and implement the standards necessary to ensure widespread adoption of decision-support tools with electronic health record systems.

Members of the coalition aim to educate policymakers and healthcare providers about the patient-centered efficiencies of e-Ordering, as well as recommending to lawmakers that the efforts to build incentives for prescribing medications electronically be broadened to include diagnostic imaging e-Ordering solutions.

“As the healthcare industry, federal government and various regulatory bodies evaluate strategies to contain the rising cost of healthcare, e-Ordering is increasingly recognized as a cost-effective and data-driven approach to assure clinical best practices are applied to all ordering decisions,” said Bibb Allen, MD, of the American College of Radiology, a founding member of the Imaging e-Ordering Coalition. “Expanding on the e-prescribing model, e-Ordering will do for diagnostic imaging what e-prescribing has done for the drug prescription process – simplify the way physicians’ decisions for patient care are verified as medically appropriate and safe without compromising the physician-patient relationship.”

There are a variety of active legislative and regulatory proposals that attempt to address the utilization of imaging services for publicly subsidized programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.

“The growing emphasis at all levels of the federal government to encourage adoption of HIT presents an opportunity for the coalition to elevate e-Ordering as a much more provider-friendly, patient-centered alternative to the radiology benefit managers (RBM) model,” said Liz Quam, director, Center for Diagnostic Imaging Institute, and founding member of the Imaging e-Ordering Coalition. “As a provider of diagnostic imaging services in nine states, my company has seen the inconsistencies in insurers’ utilization efforts. None of those efforts are without hassle for the healthcare providers striving to offer patient-centered care. Using an electronic decision support tool offers regulators and insurers the assurance that the patient is receiving appropriate care without adding unnecessary time or administrative expense.”

Charter members of the coalition include the American College of Radiology, Center for Diagnostic Imaging, GE Healthcare, Medicalis Corp., Merge Healthcare and Nuance Communications, Inc.