Academic Journal
Impact of Maintenance of Certification in Radiation Oncology on Utilization and Medicare Costs.
| Τίτλος: | Impact of Maintenance of Certification in Radiation Oncology on Utilization and Medicare Costs. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Kole TP; Rutgers University, School of Health Professions, Newark, NJ, United States (T.P.K., A.H.); Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Radiation Oncology, 480 Red Hill Road, Middletown, NJ 07748, United States (T.P.K.). Electronic address: kolet@mskcc.org., Heuer A; Rutgers University, School of Health Professions, Newark, NJ, United States (T.P.K., A.H.). |
| Πηγή: | Academic radiology [Acad Radiol] 2026 Aug; Vol. 33 (8), pp. 3156-3166. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 May 15. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Association Of University Radiologists Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 9440159 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1878-4046 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 10766332 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Acad Radiol Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: Reston Va : Association Of University Radiologists Original Publication: Reston, VA : Association of University Radiologists, c1994- |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Radiation Oncology*/economics , Radiation Oncology*/standards , Medicare*/economics , Health Care Costs*/statistics & numerical data , Certification*, United States ; Humans ; Retrospective Studies |
| Περίληψη: | Rationale and Objectives: This study aims to test the hypothesis that participation in American Board of Radiology (ABR) maintenance of certification (MOC) among radiation oncologists is associated with greater utilization of contemporary radiation therapy techniques, shorter treatment courses, and differences in Medicare spending. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis of the 2022 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Part B Public Use File was conducted. Radiation oncologist data was extracted and linked to ABR certification and MOC. Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes were analyzed to determine technique-specific utilization rates and Medicare costs by MOC. Average treatment course length was approximated using a treatment duration index (TDI) derived from professional treatment-management billing codes; TDI was used as a practice-level surrogate and not a direct measure of delivered fractions. Results: Nearly all (98.7%) time-limited ABR radiation oncology diplomates identified participated in MOC, whereas 9.3% of lifetime certificate holders voluntarily participated. MOC participants more frequently used advanced radiation techniques including intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and stereotactic body radiation therapy. Mean TDI was lower for MOC participants vs nonparticipants (2.9 vs 3.3). Multivariable analysis demonstrated non-significant lower Medicare professional costs per physician for MOC participants ($107,000 vs $113,000), and significantly lower (-10.31%) Medicare costs per radiation treatment course. Conclusion: Voluntary MOC participation among lifetime ABR-certified radiation oncologists is low. MOC participating radiation oncologists demonstrate greater adoption of advanced techniques and shorter treatment courses, and lower treatment-level spending intensity, whereas differences in total physician-level Medicare spending were modest and not statistically significant. MOC participation may be an indicator of practice-pattern differences in radiation oncology. (Copyright © 2026 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Thomas P. Kole reports a relationship with American Board of Radiology that includes: board membership. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Board certification; Lifetime certification; Maintenance of certification |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260515 Date Completed: 20260723 Latest Revision: 20260723 |
| Update Code: | 20260724 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.acra.2026.04.031 |
| PMID: | 42140782 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1878-4046 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.acra.2026.04.031 |