Appropriate use of myocardial perfusion imaging in a veteran population: Profit motives and professional liability concerns

摘要

Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) is performed millions of times annually in the United States to assess patients for coronary ischemia. Some have expressed concern that MPI is being used inappropriately, possibly because of self-referral profit motives and professional liability fears. To inform clinicians about situations in which patients are likely to benefit from MPI testing, appropriate use criteria (AUCs) for MPI were developed, last revised in 2009. Prior investigations have applied AUCs to describe the magnitude and patterns of inappropriate testing. Rates of inappropriate testing have ranged from 7% to 24%.