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Research suggests that a country’s wealth and health expenditure can influence the rate of diffusion of expensive medical technologies, particularly in radiology. 50 statistically tested five categories of variables, namely purchasing power, patient needs, physician demand, government regulation and payment methods on the data of thirty OECD countries to examine the factors that influence the diffusion rate of CT and MRI. The study found that purchasing power, which is represented by a nation’s total annual health expenditure and economic incentives to hospitals, can influence the diffusion rate for CT and MRI. The research findings of 50 confirmed many similar views about why there has been a huge disparity between developed and developing or non-rich countries with regard to deploying advanced imaging modalities. See also for example a study conducted by 34 which found a low diffusion rate of MRI in several Asian countries (China, India, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Hong Kong). Further, there is a notable trend in the increasing frequency of use of advanced modalities. In the United States, from 1992 to 2001, there was an increased utilization of MRI and interventional radiology, but a relatively unchanged level of use of radiography. Another study by 39 that examined in-patient radiology utilization trends from 1984 to 1993 in one tertiary hospital in the United States reported a significant increase in the use of CT and MRI, and a decrease in conventional imaging studies (plain films and fluoroscopy). A follow-up study conducted by 43, using a similar method to examine in-patient radiology utilization from 1993 and 2002, also reported a similar trend. According to 61, in the UK, from April 1997 to March 1998, there were about 41.5 million medical and dental x-ray examinations conducted annually. Among NHS hospitals, the study found that the highest increment in frequency came from CT, interventional radiology and mammography examinations.

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