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NEW YORK, Jan 23, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- The demand for full body medical scans has cooled, forcing many companies that offered the procedure out of business, the New York Times reported Sunday.
The scans were first offered to the public in 2001, and were met by large demand. Thousands of Americans were willing to pay $1,000 or more out of pocket for the scans.
"We were very successful; we had waiting lists," said Dr. Thomas Giannulli, who was the first to offer the scans.
The demand eventually cooled to the point where Giannulli was forgoing a paycheck. Finally, late last year, he gave up and closed the center. His story was echoed by hundreds of scanning centers across the country.
Health researchers have said the collapse of the market holds lessons about the workings of American medicine.
The business' failure demonstrates the limits of direct-to-consumer advertising versus dissuasion by professional societies, which warned against the scans, experts said. It also shows the dangers of a medical procedure not covered by most insurers. Customers were required to front their own fees, causing scanning centers to cut prices to compete. Within a year, some centers said, prices fell to less than $500.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International.
