Optimism as imaging volume dip falls below 50% for first time since pandemic’s start
Imaging volumes have dropped precipitously since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as providers put off nonurgent exams until safer times. However, one data firm sees reason for optimism in the coming months.
Overall daily volume loss for the specialty dipped below 50% for the first since mid-March, data firm Quinsite reported Monday. This follows a report from the Chapel Hill, North Carolina, company last week, noting an apparent steadying of business losses for imaging practices.
“We are seeing the first signs of improvement (albeit very slight),” the company said April 23, adding that it will “continue to monitor the situation closely as government looks to reopen the economy.”
The firm further noted Monday that it is witnessing “modest improvements” across nearly all modalities this week, though all are still trending down overall. Mammography has been hit the hardest, Quinsite said, with a nearly 79% dip in volume. Other systems such as MRI (down 47%), ultrasound (44%), x-ray (43%) and computed tomography (36%) have not fared much better.
Quinsite estimated the average practice has lost about $37,300 per full-time employee, with work relative-value units down by about 45%. The company has been tracking the pandemic’s impact on the business side of radiology since March 16, gleaning insights from its data warehouse.
The data mirrors a recent report from Radiology that estimated rad practices could see imaging volume drops between 50% and 70% for at least three months. Business leaders have tried various solutions to boost such volumes in recent weeks, including opening COVID-only centers for symptomatic patients.
Kentucky is one of the latest to take a step toward normalcy, with the Bluegrass State resuming nonurgent diagnostic radiology beginning on Monday, according to an announcement from Gov. Andy Beshear (D).
“We need to get our healthcare industry moving again because as we want to test more people we will need our healthcare industry to be operating at a greater level to make that happen,” the governor said in a Sunday statement.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.