Many MRI scans of the back may be unnecessary.
A new Health Atlas shows that as many as 57,000 of the 160,000 annual MRI scans of Norwegians' spines may be unnecessary.
Photo: Colourbox
Approximately 36 per cent of patients who underwent an MRI of the spine were not recorded with relevant disease diagnoses that would suggest a need for the examination.
In total, this amounts to 57,000 examinations each year, which corresponds to around 30 million kroner in paid reimbursements.
— The analyses give us reason to believe that there is overuse of MRI in Norway. One of the most problematic aspects of overuse is that it leads to longer waiting times for other patients, says analyst Tove Johansen.
Additionally, it takes up both time and resources from an already pressured healthcare system.
The Health Atlas has been prepared by the Centre for Clinical Documentation and Evaluation (SKDE) and is based on data from the period 2018—2022. It covers patient contacts in specialist and primary healthcare services from six months before the outpatient MRI examination to six months after the examination. The data has been sourced from the Norwegian Patient Registry and Helfo.
Follow the link to access the Health Atlas in Radiology (MRI): Health Atlas (skde.no)
Main Findings:
- Overall, the geographical variation in the use of outpatient MRI of the spine (columna) was moderate.
- There were 62 per cent more examinations per 10,000 inhabitants for the population in the Østfold catchment area compared to the population in the Førde catchment area.
- There is likely unjustified variation in the use of MRI of the spine among the elderly.
- Nearly 80 per cent of the outpatient MRI examinations were performed at private radiology institutes. Approximately 80 per cent of these are likely requested in primary healthcare.
- For 36 per cent of MRI examinations, there were no recorded disease diagnoses indicating the need for examination of the spine, either before or after the imaging examination.
- This aligns well with previous studies suggesting significant overuse of imaging diagnostics. However, there was little geographical variation, which may indicate overuse in all catchment areas.