A new Harvey L. Neiman study showed that the recent expansion of nonphysician practitioners (NPPs) across US radiology practices coincided with similar increases in NPP-billed services — services that have traditionally been performed and billed by radiologists.
The Study – Researchers reviewed 2017-2019 data for Medicare claims-submitting nurse practitioners and physician assistants (together “NPPs”) who were employed by US radiology practices, finding that:
- The number of radiology-employed NPPs who submitted claims increased by 16.3% between 2017 and 2019 (523 to 608 NPPs), while the number of US radiology practices that employed claims-submitting NPPs jumped by 14.3% (196 to 224 practices)
- This NPP service expansion was driven by clinical evaluation and management services (E&M; +7.6% to 354), invasive procedures (+18.3% to 458), and image interpretation services (+31.8% to 112).
- Meanwhile, total NPP wRVUs increased by 17.3%, similarly driven by E&M services (+40% to 111k wRVUs), invasive procedures (+5.6% to 189k), and image interpretation (+74% to 8,850 wRVUs)
- Some radiologists might be concerned that image interpretation saw the greatest NPP headcount and wRVU growth (see +31.8% & +74% stats above), although imaging only represented a small share of overall NPP wRVUs (2.9% in 2019), and 86.7% of NPP-submitted imaging services were for either DEXA scans or swallowing studies.
The Takeaway
Although roughly 87% of radiology practices still don’t employ NPPs who submit Medicare claims (as of 2019 anyway), this study reveals a clear trend towards NPPs performing more billable procedures — including image interpretation.
Given previous evidence of NPPs’ growing employment in radiology practices and the major role NPPs play within other specialties, this trend is very likely to continue, leading to more blended radiology teams and more radiologist concerns about the NPP ‘slippery slope.’
