Table 3. Characteristics of specialty of physicians performing echocardiograms in Ontario, by year.
| Specialty | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | Annual Rate of Change (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiology | |||||||||||
| Number of physicians billing echo | 304 | 305 | 328 | 330 | 335 | 361 | 361 | 363 | 395 | 3% | (3%-4%)* |
| Number of echo | 262634 | 281499 | 290325 | 326215 | 347082 | 388870 | 421152 | 445271 | 492406 | 8% | (8%-9%)* |
| Average echo per physician | 864 | 923 | 885 | 989 | 1036 | 1077 | 1167 | 1227 | 1247 | 5% | (4%-6%)* |
| Number of repeat echo | 56679 | 58693 | 68745 | 76630 | 89799 | 101782 | 109964 | 128829 | 13% | (12%-14%)* | |
| Average repeat echo per physician | 186 | 179 | 208 | 229 | 249 | 282 | 303 | 326 | 9% | (7%-12%)* | |
| Non-Cardiology | |||||||||||
| Number of physicians billing echo | 399 | 411 | 395 | 374 | 406 | 385 | 352 | 395 | 395 | -1% | (-2%-1%) |
| Number of echo | 83133 | 89857 | 91862 | 105501 | 112610 | 115711 | 115503 | 126249 | 138286 | 6% | (5%-7%)* |
| Average echo per physician | 208 | 219 | 233 | 282 | 277 | 301 | 328 | 320 | 350 | 7% | (5%-8%)* |
| Number of repeat echo | 11852 | 11605 | 13859 | 16806 | 17638 | 19713 | 24148 | 30619 | 15% | (12%-17%)* | |
| Average repeat echo per physician | 29 | 29 | 37 | 41 | 46 | 56 | 61 | 78 | 16% | (11%-21%)* | |
| Internal Medicine | |||||||||||
| Number of physicians billing echo | 95 | 89 | 107 | 95 | 108 | 104 | 94 | 118 | 119 | 3% | (0%-5%)‡ |
| Number of echo | 37711 | 41435 | 38980 | 45025 | 51307 | 49330 | 48441 | 55034 | 63249 | 6% | (4%-7%)* |
| Average echo per physician | 397 | 466 | 364 | 474 | 475 | 474 | 515 | 466 | 532 | 3% | (1%-5%)† |
| Number of repeat echo | 6215 | 5108 | 5826 | 7701 | 7280 | 8297 | 10593 | 11065 | 11% | (8%-14%)* | |
| Average repeat echo per physician | 70 | 48 | 61 | 71 | 70 | 88 | 90 | 93 | 8% | (4%-11%)* | |
| Family Practice/General Practitioner | |||||||||||
| Number of physicians billing echo | 62 | 74 | 74 | 70 | 79 | 59 | 66 | 64 | 60 | -2% | (-5%-1%) |
| Number of echo | 5785 | 7591 | 8574 | 11339 | 8920 | 10314 | 10441 | 11737 | 10911 | 7% | (4%-10%)* |
| Average echo per physician | 93 | 103 | 116 | 162 | 113 | 175 | 158 | 183 | 182 | 9% | (5%-12%)* |
| Number of repeat echo | 1544 | 2213 | 2481 | 1938 | 1993 | 2033 | 2619 | 2555 | 4% | (0%-9%)‡ | |
| Average repeat echo per physician | 21 | 30 | 35 | 25 | 34 | 31 | 41 | 43 | 8% | (2%-14%)† | |
| Radiology | |||||||||||
| Number of physicians billing echo | 139 | 147 | 133 | 121 | 119 | 115 | 92 | 89 | 95 | -6% | (-8%--4%)* |
| Number of echo | 29485 | 28938 | 30789 | 30773 | 28421 | 30669 | 30421 | 30831 | 33089 | 1% | (0%-2%)‡ |
| Average echo per physician | 212 | 197 | 231 | 254 | 239 | 267 | 331 | 346 | 348 | 8% | (6%-9%)* |
| Number of repeat echo | 2541 | 2719 | 2819 | 3149 | 3425 | 4108 | 4741 | 8289 | 16% | (11%-21%)* | |
| Average repeat echo per physician | 17 | 20 | 23 | 26 | 30 | 45 | 53 | 87 | 27% | (21%-35%)* | |
*
p<0.001,
†
p<0.01,
‡
p<0.05. Echo=echocardiograms; CI=Confidence interval