Study: Economic crisis impacts U.S. diagnostic imaging systems market

According to market research firm Millennium Research Group (MRG), a combination of factors involving the current state of the U.S. economy, excess installed capacity, and regulatory initiatives aimed at managing healthcare costs will have a negative effect on sales of CT, MRI systems, and nuclear medicine scanners over the next five years.

Compared to the second quarter of 2008, respondents to MRG’s U.S. Imaging Marketrack 2008 third-quarter survey reported lower facility financial health and a notable decrease in diagnostic imaging purchase intentions.

Government cost-cutting initiatives are further dampening revenues. The implementation of the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) has constrained the market for diagnostic imaging systems. Reduced reimbursements enforced by the DRA have made investment in additional scanners more difficult for non-hospital facilities, according to MRG.

Furthermore, the company said, proposed initiatives from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) designed to regulate contrast-enhanced procedures performed in physician offices to restrict self-referral will also hinder scanner sales.