The study also showed that DXA testing was linked to fewer fractures. The researchers found that, over a 3-year period, fracture rates were nearly 20% lower in elderly women who had received a DXA test, compared with those who did not.
Alison King, Ph.D., one of the coauthors of the study and a health care consultant, said the results make a strong case for averting the scheduled payment cut for DXA both to improve public health and to save money in the long term. "There are many valuable medical interventions that do not save money," she said. "DXA is both clinically valuable and cost effective."
Dr. Charles King, a rheumatologist in Tupelo, Miss., and chair of the American College of Rheumatology’s Committee on Rheumatologic Care, said that he thinks lawmakers are starting to hear the message about the cost effectiveness of DXA. "We are getting the word out," he said. The problem, he noted, is that Congress has been reticent to provide legislative carve-outs for certain diseases or treatments.
Dr. King advised physicians that if they want to continue to offer DXA they need to view it as a loss leader, but he urged rheumatologists to keep performing it. Rheumatologists must continue to read and interpret these studies because they inadvertently contribute to the development of osteoporosis through the use of corticosteroids and other treatments for rheumatic conditions. "We have to retain ownership of this disease," he said.