Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a popular yet cost-intensive diagnostic measure whose strengths compared to other medical imaging technologies have led to increased application. But the benefits of aggressive testing are doubtful. The comparatively high MRI usage in Austria in combination with substantial regional variation has hence become a concern for its policy makers. We use a set of routine healthcare data on outpatient MRI service consumption of Austrian patients between Q3-2015 and Q2-2016 on the district level to investigate the extent of medical practice variation in a two-step statistical analysis combining multivariate regression models and Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition. District-level MRI exam rates per 1.000 inhabitants range from 52.38 to 128.69. Controlling for a set of regional characteristics in a multivariate regression model, we identify payer autonomy in regulating access to MRI scans as the biggest contributor to regional variation. Nevertheless, the statistical decomposition highlights that more than 70% of the regional variation remains unexplained by differences between the observable district characteristics. In the absence of epidemiological explanations, the substantial regional medical practice variation calls the efficiency of resource deployment into question.

磁共振成像 (MRI) 是一种流行但成本密集的诊断措施，与其他医学成像技术相比，其优势已导致应用增加。但积极测试的好处值得怀疑。因此，奥地利相对较高的 MRI 使用率以及显着的地区差异已成为其决策者关注的问题。我们使用一组关于 2015 年第 3 季度和 2016 年第 2 季度奥地利患者门诊 MRI 服务消费的常规医疗保健数据，在结合多元回归模型和 Blinder 的两步统计分析中调查医疗实践变化的程度。瓦哈卡分解。每 1.000 名居民的地区级 MRI 检查率从 52.38 到 128.69 不等。在多元回归模型中控制一组区域特征，我们将付款人在管理 MRI 扫描访问方面的自主权确定为区域差异的最大贡献者。尽管如此，统计分解强调了超过 70% 的区域变化仍然无法用可观察的区域特征之间的差异来解释。在缺乏流行病学解释的情况下，大量的区域医疗实践差异使资源部署的效率受到质疑。