Medical imaging as a contributor to today's healthcare crisis.

At the end of 2007, Medicare reported the increase in medical imaging costs overtook increases in pharmaceutical costs for the first time. Imaging costs accounted for a 20% increase, while pharmaceuticals accounted for just 10%. There are two common areas where imaging costs impact overall healthcare spending: unnecessary exams and operational management. This article does not suggest alternatives to today's imaging management practices. It provides economic information, which may be valuable to imaging managers who want to gauge the costs of operating their own departments to what is going on in the industry.