As much as 12 percent of the $100 billion spent on imaging each year is unnecessary, and the primary reason is defensive medicine, according to a new report on the imaging market from the research company peer60, American Fork, Utah.

While that may not come as news to radiologists, it provides evidence that the problem is well recognized by many healthcare leaders.  The research company surveyed 197 hospitals and health systems represented by CMOs (68%), department heads (19%), CMIOs (6%), attending physicians (4%), directors (1%), and CIOs (1%). The average size of the institutions was 811 beds and the median size was 492.

Respondents said the leading cause of wasteful imaging was defensive medicine (92%), followed by patient demand (62%), and inexperience with tests (60%).

More than half of respondents reported that unnecessary imaging was a top priority at their institutions. Of the more than 40% reporting it wasn’t a top priority, only four institutions (all smaller than the median size) said it wasn’t a problem at all; 32 percent said they were focused on meaningful use; 16 percent said they already had a solution in place; and another 16 percent said they didn’t know how to tackle the problem.

The twelve institutions that reported solving the unnecessary imaging problem were prompted to report their solution, and six responded, all suggesting that they did so on their own with a mix of homegrown technology and process improvements.

“That no vendor was mentioned shows how truly greenfield this area is,” the report reads. “It presents an incredible opportunity for innovative healthcare vendors to jump in and assist in providing a solution that will have a tremendous ROI.”

To arrive at the $12 billion estimate of the size of the problem, peer60 asked those respondents who said unnecessary imaging was a top priority to estimate what percentage of their imaging was unnecessary.  The low-end estimate was $7.47 billion and the high-end estimate was $11.95 billion.