Trends in Medical Claims and Utilization of Limited Ultrasonography Among Emergency Physicians and Radiologists Within a Large Health Plan Provider

OBJECTIVES The goal of this study was to evaluate trends in medical claim submissions for limited ultrasound studies performed (1) during emergency department (ED) encounters and (2) by ED providers compared to radiologists. METHODS We conducted a retrospective, descriptive study using medical claims data from Medica Health Plans from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2015. Current procedural terminology codes were abstracted for limited ultrasound applications performed during an ED visit and further stratified by studies performed by ED providers compared with radiologists. We excluded claims for which we could not determine provider specialty. RESULTS We identified 42,576 encounters with limited US claims, of which, 32,666 were submitted by ED providers (N = 9649) or radiologists (N = 23,017). Among ED providers, there was a significant linear increase in the annual number of claims for retroperitoneal (P