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Overuse or underuse of MRI scanners in private radiology centers in Tehran

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2008

Soheil Saadat ,
Seyed Mohammad Ghodsi ,
Kavous Firouznia ,
Mahyar Etminan ,
Khadijeh Goudarzi  and
Kourosh Holakouie Naieni
Soheil Saadat
Affiliation:
Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Sina Trauma Research Center
Seyed Mohammad Ghodsi
Affiliation:
Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Sina Trauma Research Center
Kavous Firouznia
Affiliation:
Tehran University of Medical Sciences, School of Medicine
Mahyar Etminan
Affiliation:
Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and University of British Columbia
Khadijeh Goudarzi
Affiliation:
Ministry of Health & Medical Education, Deputy of Health
Kourosh Holakouie Naieni
Affiliation:
Tehran University of Medical Sciences, School of Public Health and Institute of Public Health Research
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Abstract

Objectives: The semiprivate health system in Iran has created an opportunity for unnecessary uses of advanced medical equipments including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This study aimed to evaluate the evidence for MRI overuse in private diagnostic imaging centers in Tehran, Iran. The objectives of this study were to determine the frequency of use of MRI scans for different complaints and to explore frequency of normal MRI findings as a function of unnecessary MRI use.

Methods: We conducted a survey among private MRI centers in Tehran, Iran, to study the proportion of MRI scans that may result in significant clinical finding. All MRI reports at a specific point in time at selected MRI centers were reviewed by a physician and the findings were recorded as normal, abnormal, or substantial changes.

Results: Of all the MRI reports, 17.2 percent had resulted in normal findings; 9.8 percent ordered for examination of headache, and 4.8 percent for lower back pain.

Conclusion: Unnecessary MRIs are most likely to result in normal finding; although not all the MRI with normal results could be identified as unnecessary. Negative findings from MRI scans may be reassuring to both clinicians and patients. The proportion of normal findings in MRI scans did not provide evidence of MRI overuse in Iran. The results of this study warrant formation of guidelines for the use of MRIs for headache and low back pain disorders.

Keywords

Magnetic resonance imagingHealth expendituresHealth policyUtilizationIran
Type
GENERAL ESSAYS
Information
International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care , Volume 24 , Issue 3 , July 2008 , pp. 277 - 281
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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