91% of consumer medical imaging tweets are negative, with most related to costs
A majority of Twitter posts regarding radiology are negative, with many users complaining about imaging costs, according to a small analysis published Monday.
Researchers from three top Georgia institutions gathered medical imaging-related tweets posted over a month-long period, sharing their findings in Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology. More than 90% were considered to be negative, most often discussing themes related to care costs, care delivery, and insurance issues.
Medical imaging utilization has increased dramatically over the past two decades and some studies have shown patients are paying more out of pocket for certain exams.
The authors say their findings can help providers think about prices from a different viewpoint.
“We hope this manuscript can motivate radiologists to consider imaging costs not just from a revenue perspective, but also from the patient's point of view,” corresponding author Nadja Kadom, MD, a radiologist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and colleagues wrote March 8.
The investigators downloaded tweets posted between June 3 and July 7, 2019. After removing content from users outside the U.S. and others, 99 of the more than 1,000 posts related to imaging were included in the final analysis.
As previously mentioned, 91% were negative, and most (47%) related to imaging costs. For example, one individual posted:
“I just got an MRI bill that pretty much equals all of the money I have left in my bank account.”
Other common themes included care delivery (21%), insurance problems (23%), and a need for information (7%). Regarding price and information requests, one user tweeted:
“I have an MRI scheduled for a tendinitis in my wrist. They were super reluctant to give me an estimate but after pushing a bit I was told it would be around.. 2800$ !!!"
There were a few positive posts, accounting for (9 tweets) 9% overall, the authors noted. Most were related to gratitude (4 tweets, 44%), affordability (3, 33%) and a better than expected experience (2, 22%).
One such example included the following:
“Working people in the US usually have group health insurance and if not you can purchase individual health insurance! My copay on an MRI is much less than $6K, more like $500. AND I can get one same day!”
Kadom and colleagues said overall there were very few tweets involving insurance or billing issues related to imaging. Most were short or part of a conversation chain and excluded from the analysis. They did add that the content discussed many topics currently debated within the specialty and should push rads to better consider them.
“As radiologists we have an opportunity to shed light on imaging costs in a way that insurers currently fail to provide sufficiently to patients and at the same time advocate for the value of the care we provide to our patients,” the authors concluded.
Read more about the study here.
Matt joined Chicago’s TriMed team in 2018 covering all areas of health imaging after two years reporting on the hospital field. He holds a bachelor’s in English from UIC, and enjoys a good cup of coffee and an interesting documentary.