AMA Tells Obama How to Cut "Unnecessary" Medical Costs June 4, 2009 (LPAC)—Following up their promises to President Obama to help his Administration cut $2 trillion in healthcare costs, made at the White House summit a month ago, the six health-sector "stakeholder" organizations submitted their recommendations to the White House on June 1. This gives a sampling of procedures that are targetted to be slashed.
Notable among these, were the proposals from the American Medical Association (AMA), which includes a section called "Efforts to Reduce Unnecessary Utilization," listing the following areas in which measures against "overuse" can be developed this year:
* Surgical and non-surgical management of back pain.
* Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (angioplasty).
* Maternity care—induced labor or Caesarian sections.
* Sinusitis: too much use of antibiotics and sinus radiography.
* Diagnostic imaging, for example, CT angiography for pulmonary embolism, MRIs of knee and shoulder, CT or MRI of head, stress echocardiography, SPECT MRI.
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