PET Imaging Expansion Presents More Accurate Option for Diagnosing Patients with Coronary Artery Disease
CMS to Expand PET Reimbursement for Myocardial Viability Studies
ATLANTA -- The rapid growth of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging and the recent announcements from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to expand cardiac PET imaging reimbursement presents new opportunities for this more accurate method of diagnosing Coronary Artery Disease (CAD).
According to Dr. Josef Machac, Associate Professor and Director of Nuclear Medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, for years the clinical value of cardiac PET imaging in the diagnosis of CAD and myocardial viability has been proven and accepted, but limited by the availability of PET imaging systems and the lack of reimbursement for testing of myocardial viability. “The reimbursement increases for cardiac PET and broader availability of the technology can improve physicians’ ability to precisely diagnosis, treat and monitor their cardiac patients. The high specificity of the information from a PET scan can help avoid unnecessary invasive, higher-risk diagnostic procedures such as cardiac catheterization. In patients with CAD and cardiac dysfunction, PET imaging can help avoid high-risk resvascularization procedures, such as stenting or bypass surgery, and target aggressive intervention for those patients where the chances of clinical benefit are high.”
The number of PET imaging systems, which have predominately been used for detecting, diagnosing and staging cancer, has grown by 100 percent since 2000. Since then, GE Medical Systems has installed more than 200 Advance™ and Advance NXi™ PET imaging systems worldwide.
“GE’s Advance PET systems, when coupled with new display and analysis computer software, are extremely well-suited for cardiac imaging,” said Dr. Machac, who has been responsible for PET imaging at Mount Sinai for two years, and has been involved in cardiac radionucleide imaging for 20 years. “The system’s capability for high-quality myocardial perfusion and viability studies provides a new level of accuracy. The attenuation correction capabilities of the system delivers accurate results - even with women and obese patients who are generally more difficult to image.”
Beyond the growing number of PET imaging systems, the promise of cardiac PET imaging was further validated in a recent announcement from CMS that expanded coverage for PET as a primary or initial diagnostic study for determining myocardial viability in patients with ischemic heart disease.
“The PET reimbursement announcement for myocardial viability studies reflects a growing understanding of the clinical value of cardiac PET imaging. We believe that such changes will encourage even more physicians to use PET imaging detect the cardiac disease earlier, and contribute to the overall improvement in patient outcomes,” said Dow Wilson, General Manager of Functional and Molecular Imaging at GE Medical Systems.
About GE Medical Systems
GE Medical Systems is an $8 billion global leader in medical imaging, interventional procedures, healthcare services, and information technology. Its offerings include networking and productivity tools, clinical information systems, patient monitoring systems, surgery and vascular imaging, conventional and digital X-ray, computed tomography, electron beam tomography, magnetic resonance, ultrasound and bone mineral densitometry, positron emission tomography, nuclear medicine, and a comprehensive portfolio of clinical and business services. For more than 100 years, health care providers worldwide have relied on GE Medical Systems for high quality medical technology and productivity solutions. For more information, visit the GE Medical Systems Web site at www.gemedical.com
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