• Sharon W Kwan and Karim Valji.
• Department of Radiology, Interventional Radiology Section, University of Washington Medical Center, 1959 NE Pacific St., Box 357115, Seattle, WA 98195-7115, USA. shakwan@u.washington.edu
• J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2012 Jul 1; 23 (7): 887-92.

PurposeTo characterize the current state and level of interventional radiology evaluation and management (E&M) services provided to the Medicare population and to investigate the relationship between the level of E&M services provided by an individual provider and volumes, charges, and types of procedures performed.Materials And MethodsBased on Medicare claims data, interventional radiology providers were identified and grouped as high or low E&M level providers. Procedure counts, charge values, E&M codes, top diagnoses associated with E&M services, and top procedure codes were tabulated for interventional radiology providers as a whole. Procedure counts, charge values, and top procedure codes were tabulated for each group. Groups were compared with nonparametric statistical tests.ResultsIn 2009, 118,040 units of E&M services were performed by interventional radiologists (IRs) for Medicare beneficiaries, resulting in $9.3 million in allowed charges. High E&M level providers had higher total charges for procedural services, performed a higher unit number of procedural services, and obtained a higher charge per unit of procedural work performed (all P < .0001). Although there was significant overlap in highest-volume procedures performed by both groups, high E&M level IRs performed more catheter-based procedures in the arterial system.ConclusionsThis study found significant differences between practice characteristics of IRs providing high and low levels of E&M services. The results suggest that greater involvement in E&M is associated with higher-reimbursement procedural work.Copyright © 2012 SIR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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