SCCT Health Policy and Advocacy Efforts

Abstract

Cardiac computed tomography has a growing presence in multiple guidelines supported by a growing evidence base as to its accuracy and impact on clinical outcomes. Despite this, dissemination into widespread routine clinical practice has been slow, largely restricted to large academic centers and urban settings. The reasons of this are multifactorial, but one of the most impactful of these reasons is undeniably reimbursement. Currently, there is marked discrepancy between the costs of performing cardiac CT and the renumeration provided for this. Until this is addressed, cardiac CT will not reach its potential for the benefit of patients. It is for this reason that the SCCT continues to dedicate significant efforts to represent the need of the cardiology and radiology communities in bringing about changes in policy and billing. Significant momentum has been gained in recent years with the engagement of both congress and Medicare in moving towards a system of payment that recognizes the time and expertise required to acquire high quality cardiac CT. In this article we cover these recent efforts, and the next steps in this continued effort over the coming years.