Abstract
Background
Inappropriate use of myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) may vary depending on the training, specialty, or practice location of the clinician.
Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional investigation of consecutive patients who underwent MPI at our Veterans Affairs medical center between December 2010 and July 2011. Characteristics of the MPI ordering clinicians were extracted to investigate any associations with inappropriate use.
Results
582 patients were included, 9.8% were inappropriate. No difference in inappropriate use was observed between cardiology and non-cardiology clinicians (n = 21, 9.5% vs n = 36, 10.0%, P = .83); no difference was noted between nurse practitioners/physician assistants, attending physicians, and housestaff (7.5% vs 11.2% vs 1.8%, P = .06). Comparing inpatient, emergency department and outpatient clinician groups, the difference was null (8.6% vs 6.3% vs 10.1%, P = .75). For most clinician groups, the most common inappropriate indication was an asymptomatic scenario; however, some groups were different: definite acute coronary syndrome for inpatient clinicians and low risk syncope for emergency medicine clinicians.
Conclusions
Clinician groups appear to order inappropriate MPI at similar rates, regardless of their training, specialty, or practice location. Differences in the most common type of inappropriate testing suggest that interventions to reduce inappropriate use should be tailored to specific clinician types.
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Acknowledgments
Ryan Chauffe, DO and Scott Ryals, MD are acknowledged for their participation in gathering of data for this investigation. This investigation was supported by NIH T35 Training Grant: T35-HL007489-28. This work was supported by resources provided by the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States government.
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Dr. Winchester had full access to the data and accepts responsibility for its integrity.
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Winchester, D.E., Hymas, J., Meral, R. et al. Clinician-dependent variations in inappropriate use of myocardial perfusion imaging: Training, specialty, and location. J. Nucl. Cardiol. 21, 598–604 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12350-014-9887-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12350-014-9887-3