The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is taking a look at CT angiography (CTA) as part of an internally generated national coverage analyses (NCA).
CMS said it's concerned that the procedure has been rapidly adopted by the clinical community despite the lack of clinical evidence that it improves patient health outcomes. The NCA will evaluate the potential evidence for CTA when used to diagnose coronary artery disease and determine if a national coverage determination (NCD) is warranted, according to CMS.
In addition, CMS said it would also consider the potential of "coverage with evidence development" as an appropriate NCD decision. Public comment is available until July 13, 2007, and CMS expects to complete the national coverage analyses by March 12, 2008.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writers
June 21, 2007
Related Reading
CMS adds to cardiac ultrasound coverage, May 23, 2007
CMS debuts DOQ-IT U, April 12, 2007
CMS extends NPI implementation deadline, April 3, 2007
CMS rescinds IDTF rule changes, February 19, 2007
New CMS rules put the brakes on IDTFs, February 13, 2007
Copyright © 2007 AuntMinnie.com
![Images show the pectoralis muscles of a healthy male individual who never smoked (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; body mass index [BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared], 28.4; number of cigarette pack-years, 0; forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1], 97.6% predicted; FEV1: forced vital capacity [FVC] ratio, 0.71; pectoralis muscle area [PMA], 59.4 cm2; pectoralis muscle volume [PMV], 764 cm3) and a male individual with a smoking history and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; BMI, 27.5; number of cigarette pack-years, 43.2, FEV1, 48% predicted; FEV1:FVC, 0.56; PMA, 35 cm2; PMV, 480.8 cm3) from the Canadian Cohort Obstructive Lung Disease (i.e., CanCOLD) study. The CT image is shown in the axial plane. The PMV is automatically extracted using the developed deep learning model and overlayed onto the lungs for visual clarity.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/03/genkin.25LqljVF0y.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=focalpoint&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)