Higher clinical knowledge associated with fewer low-value imaging orders

Docs in the top quartile of clinical knowledge were 8% less likely to order any low-value service (28.6% vs 31%) and 4% less likely to order low-value imaging (13.2% vs 13.8%) vs bottom quartile, per a JAMA Internal Medicine study of 7,100 internists.

• The study assessed 25 low-value services among nearly 7,100 outpatient general internists caring for almost 900,000 Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries.
• Top-quartile physicians also had 16% lower odds of ordering unnecessary diagnostic/preventive testing (8.7% vs 10.4%) and 11% lower odds of unnecessary cancer screening (12.3% vs 13.8%).
• The analysis linked ABIM Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment scores to ordering; the authors suggest improving physician knowledge could be a lever to reduce healthcare waste.

Automated summary

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