Health Care Fragmentation and Diagnostic Testing: A Cross-Sectional Study

Patients who visit multiple outpatient providers are known to be at greater risk of having uncoordinated, fragmented care. In a recent Commonwealth Fund-supported study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, researchers found that twice as many radiology tests and other diagnostics tests are ordered for patients identified as having the highest levels of fragmented care compared to those having the lowest levels—raising concerns about exposure to unnecessary radiation.