Cardiac Magnetic Resonance in Cardio-Oncology: Advantages, Importance of Expediency, and Considerations to Navigate Pre-Authorization.

Diagnosis of acute and late cardiotoxicity from cancer therapeutics has become increasingly important as the scope of cardio-oncology increases exponentially, both in terms of the number of people affected and the types of therapies it encompasses. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is a tool that can offer unparalleled diagnostic information compared with other imaging modalities, but its utilization is often delayed, at the expense of patient care, due to the need for insurance pre-authorization. This paper highlights situations in which CMR is preferred as the diagnostic modality and provides examples of diagnoses more likely to be approved by insurance companies. It also provides specific cardio-oncology diagnoses or questions to help the clinical cardio-oncologist navigate the pre-authorization process.
Competing Interests: Dr O’Quinn has received consulting fees for educational endeavors from AstraZeneca and Bracco. Dr Barac has received honoraria for participation in the CV Safety Advisory Board for Takeda Inc. All other authors have reported that they have no relationships relevant to the contents of this paper to disclose.
(© 2021 The Authors.)