Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
 
Agency
Virginia Department of Health
 
Board
State Board of Health
 
chapter
State Medical Facilities Plan [12 VAC 5 ‑ 230]
Next Comment     Back to List of Comments
6/12/17  4:55 pm
Commenter: J F.

COPN / SMFP
 

I appreciate that there is value to having a statewide COPN, but acknowledge the arguments made by those opposed to COPN.   The common theme to opposition seems be a desire for a more free market economy approach.  Healthcare is not, never has been, and never will be a free market economy.  Even so, I could believe that the arguments put forth by those opposed to COPN aren't self-motivated if they made one change to their proposal.  If they would agree to prevent any ordering clinician from profiting from the imaging he/she orders, I could support COPN reform.  

The clinicians ordering these studies will greatly impact where the patients go to get their imaging and the clinicians will direct them to the imaging they own.   There is no shortage of peer reviewed studies showing that clinicians who can profit from advanced imaging not only order more advanced imaging, they also order more studies that are normal - they are less discrimnate about ordering CT/MRs when they can profit from them.  That's more money, and more patient radiation,  for more studies that are normal.   As we enter an era of value over volume and as we move to population health management, allowing ordering to clinicians to profit by over-ordering advanced imaging seems as foolish as it is counterproductive.

CommentID: 60237