AMA

• BOSTON and LEUVEN, Belgium , July 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Medical Association (AMA) has issued a Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code for icometrix ' FDA-cleared, AI-related brain MRI quantification software, thereby creating a path to reimbursement.
• icometrix is the world-leading brain imaging AI company, providing clinically relevant metrics for cerebral MRI scans.
• Once in effect, hospitals and imaging centers can use the new CPT codes to submit claims for icometrix' AI-based analysis of brain MRI scans.
• As this is the first CPT code for quantitative brain MRI analysis, we are thrilled about the impact this code will have on the care and management of patients with brain disorders", concludes Dirk Smeets, Chief Technology Officer at icometrix.

• SOMIS, Calif., June 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Prominently featured in The Inner Circle, J. Thomas Millington, MD, ABOM/UHM, CWS is acknowledged as a Most Trusted Healthcare Professional for his contributions to the Family Practice Field.
• He then attended Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia in 1969 where he earned a Medical Doctor degree and completed a family practice residency at the Ventura County Medical Center in 1972.
• With 20 years of experience in healthcare, Dr. Millington became interested in and later pursued certification in hyperbaric medicine from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• He is a Fellow of the College of Certified Wound Specialists; and a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

• The statement by the AMA, the nation’s largest association representing physicians, signals a significant shift in how clinicians regard BMI as a measure of general health.
• As a board-certified obesity medicine physician with a research interest in patient-centered obesity care, I have written before about my concerns over use of BMI as a measure of health.

BMI basics

• The metric was developed to estimate a normal body weight depending on an individual’s height, given that taller people tend to weigh more.
• Research has consistently shown that BMI at a population level correlates strongly with body fat percentage and risk for serious health conditions.

Major limitations

• However, while BMI may have strong correlations with the amount of body weight composed of body fat in studies of averages of large groups of people, it does not directly measure body fat for an individual.
• Therefore, people with the same BMI may have substantially different body fat percentage based on a variety of factors such as age, muscle mass, sex and race.
• In an example from one large study, adults with a BMI of 25 had a body fat percentage ranging from 14% to 35% for men, and 26% to 42% for women.
• Adults with metabolically healthy obesity have significantly lower health risks associated with a high BMI and therefore may not benefit from weight loss.

Using BMI to guide recommendations for weight loss

• Its members cite the potential for lifestyle-based weight loss interventions to reduce obesity-related health risks as justification for the recommendation.
• Whether newer, more effective weight loss medications, such as Ozempic, will lead to long-term health benefits remains to be seen.
• Part of the reason that the evidence for health benefits of weight loss interventions is so poor is that body weight is regulated by a complicated hormonal system.

Alternatives for assessing weight and health

• With the shift away from BMI, the AMA recommends alternative measures that clinicians can use for the assessment of the health risks of an elevated body weight.
• Further, while these measurements may better predict health risks of elevated weight, evidence for using these measurements to improve health outcomes is lacking.
• Further research is needed to identify the best ways to assess the health risks of elevated body weight.

• “In the quest to create larger and more robust monopolies, some hospitals are using sham peer review to remove the last remnants of independent physicians practicing in hospitals,” writes Lawrence Huntoon , M.D., Ph.D., in the summer issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons.
• “The creation of large hospital monopolies, with hospitals influencing the care provided by its employed physicians, has led to antitrust concerns,” Dr. Huntoon states.
• HCQIA created virtually absolute immunity for hospitals conducting sham peer review; that is, reviews conducted in bad faith for reasons unrelated to improving patient care.
• While acknowledging that “a sanction by a peer review body can be a devastating blow to a physician, emotionally, financially, and professionally,” the American Medical Association (AMA) was skeptical about the existence or significance of sham peer review.