Saurabh Jha MD, Moderator: Speaker, Toshiba Corporation

Adam C. Powell PhD, Presenter: President, Payer+Provider Syndicate

Richard Glenn Abramson MD, Presenter: Consultant, ICON plc Board Member, Partners in the Imaging Enterprise LLC

1) Understand the difference between uncertainty and risk. 2) Articulate how radiological exams transform uncertainty into risk. 3) Assess the value of converting uncertainty into risk. 4) Apply the techniques discussed to existing and hypothetical radiological exams.

How can we put price tags on radiological exams? Many radiological exams serve the purpose of converting uncertainty about a patient’s status into defined risk. When something is uncertain, we both do not know what will happen next and do not know the distribution of possible outcomes. In contrast, with risk, we still do not know what will happen next, but do know the distribution of possible outcomes. This presentation discusses how radiological exams convert uncertainty into risk, and how we can assess the value of the conversion. It concludes by demonstrating how the techniques discussed can be applied to put price tags on both radiological exams that exist today and hypothetical exams that could be invented in the future.

Jha, S, Powell, A, Abramson, R, Value: What Is It, and What Does It Mean for Radiology?.  Radiological Society of North America 2014 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting, - ,Chicago IL. http://archive.rsna.org/2014/14000572.html