2014 to 2023 Saw Increase in Imaging Turnaround Time

TUESDAY, April 7, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- The time it took to interpret imaging studies increased 113 percent from 2014 to 2023, according to a study published online March 30 in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.Eric W. Christensen, Ph.D., from the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute in Reston, Virginia, and colleagues assessed turnaround time trends for office and hospital outpatient imaging studies as a proxy for the radiologist workforce's capacity to absorb the growing demand for diagnostic imaging. The analysis included claims from a 5 percent sample of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries (2014 to 2023; 2.58 million imaging studies).The researchers found there were 0.109 mean days to interpretation overall. There was an increase in mean days to interpretation from 0.091 in 2014 to 0.193 in 2023 -- a 113 percent increase -- with most of this increase occurring in 2022 and 2023. Increases in turnaround times were 318 percent for computed tomography, 256 percent for magnetic resonance, 140 percent for ultrasound, and 63 percent for radiology or fluoroscopy. There were differences in the trends based on community income, Area Deprivation Index, and urbanicity, with more disadvantaged communities generally having longer turnaround times."We think these results are an early indicator of a worsening problem," coauthor Cindy Yuan, M.D., from the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, said in a statement. "If the sudden change in 2022 reflects that there is no remaining capacity for the radiology workforce to absorb new workload, then continued imaging growth will eventually impact patients."Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required).Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

2014 to 2023 Saw Increase in Imaging Turnaround Time

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