Medical Imaging

Apple technology brings to mind sleek, hip devices, maybe a miniature music player or a laptop thinner than your hand. Medical technology conjures up thoughts of scary-looking big imaging machines, or maybe computerized health records.

What happens when you put the two together? No, not an MRI machine that plays Johnny Nash. When the iPhone G3 is released tomorrow, it will be paired up with some new medical applications (developed by independent companies) that will put new technologies literally at a doctor's fingertips. Here's a sneak peek at how three widely publicized programs could help improve the quality of care.

Medical imaging, such as CT scans and MRIs, has become synonymous with medical cost growth, and both private insurance and Medicare looking for ways to rein in costs, according to a recent AP article by Linda Johnson.

Citing work done by the Center for Studying Health System Change, the article noted that from 2000 to 2005 the use CT scans in the U.S. rose from 12 scans per 100 people to 22-with each test generating between $500-$1000 in revenue. During that same period, Medicare's spending on imaging services nearly doubled from $6.4 billion to $12.0 billion, accounting for 23 percent of total outpatient hospital payments in 2005, according to MedPAC-Congress's advisory committee on Medicare.