A new study presented November 30, 2011 meeting of the Radiological Society of North America reports that doctors who own or lease MRI equipment are nearly twice as likely to order back scans that were unnecessary. The study was conducted by Dr. Ben Paxton a radiology resident at Duke University Medical Center.

Dr. Paxton and his team looked at 500 consecutive lumbar spine MRIs drawn evenly from two orthopedic practices in the same community. The first group had a financial stake in the MRI equipment and the second group did not. The resulting spinal MRIs were then reviewed by four independent radiologists who specialize in musculoskeletal radiology. They found that the doctors who own the equipment had 86% more negative (showed no pathology) scans than those who didn't. About 23% of the scans were negative in the nonfinancial interest group. On the surface, this leads to the question did the patients of the physicians that owned the equipment really need the scans in the first place.

The study further reported that between the years 2000-2005, MRI ownership/leasing by non-radiologist group 254% while among radiologist it grew only 83%. Since the 1990s, there have been laws known as the "Stark laws" which put limits on self referral. Just this year the centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services begin requiring doctors referring patients to MRI centers, in which they have a stake, to also provide the addresses of other nearby imaging centers as well. Dr. Paxton believes that more should be done by requiring strict reporting of ownership of MRI units to Medicare and patients so that they have a better sense of who owns what. He also believes that if there is not "some sort of enforceable policy" these regulations will not carry any weight.