American College of Radiology
Stop Imaging Cuts
  • ACR Education Center Hits Milestones: 100 Courses, 3,600 Attendees
    The American College of Radiology (ACR) Education Center, “radiology’s classroom of the future,” recently marked the completion of its one-hundredth course offering. The state-of-the-art center has enabled more than 3,600 physicians to experience hands-on training, on individual workstations, using the imaging software of their choice, often with one-on-one instruction from world-class faculty.
  • International Scientific Cooperation to Advance Image-Guided Prostate Cancer Care
    To improve early diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer, ACR, AdMeTech Foundation and ESUR have formed a joint effort to expedite development of standards for the Magnetic Resonance Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (MR PI-RADS) modeled after a successful effort in breast cancer care. The goal is to expedite the transfer of high-quality MRI from laboratories to patients to address the major need in prostate cancer care — reducing unnecessary biopsies and treatment.
  • ACR Dose Index Registry Reaches Milestones: One Million Scans, 300 Facilities
    Since its launch less than a year ago, more than one million computed tomography (CT) scans have been contributed to the American College of Radiology (ACR) Dose Index Registry (DIR) and compiled for analysis. The DIR currently has 326 registered facilities including private practices, hospital-based facilities and academic centers. Data collected from the DIR — which allows imaging facilities to compare their CT dose indices to regional and national values — is used to establish national benchmarks for CT dose indices to help ensure that patients receive safe, quality imaging care.
  • Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act Reaches 180 Co-sponsors
    Four Congressmen recently added their names to the list of co-sponsors for H.R 3269, the Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act, bringing the list of co-sponsors to 180. Click on the headline above and follow the instructions to urge your Member of Congress to support H.R. 3269 today!
  • ACR Urges Conference Committee to Include H.R. 3269
    On Friday, January 20, chairman of the American College of Radiology’s (ACR) Board of Chancellors, John Patti, MD, FACR, sent a letter to the House and Senate conferees urging the inclusion of H.R. 3269, the Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act, within a forthcoming, long-term Medicare proposal. More specifically, the letter urges inclusion of H.R. 3269 within conference committee legislation to address the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) cuts, continuation of the Payroll Tax holiday and extension of unemployment insurance benefits. Copies of the letter were also shared with Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and Senate.
  • ACR Members Now Have Free Access to Ethics and Professionalism Educational Modules
    A new series of ethics and professionalism educational modules is available through this website. Each self-guided module was developed by experts, peer-reviewed for content, quality and clarity and includes self-testing features to assess comprehension. This activity has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ and qualified by the ABR for SAM credit in fulfillment of MOC requirements. ACR members can access the modules for free upon entering their ACR User Name and password.
  • ACR Asserts Integrity in Radiology
    The American College of Radiology (ACR) is deeply troubled by implications of a recent CNN report involving the American Board of Radiology (ABR) certification examinations. While the ABR and the ACR are separate and independent organizations, the College is comprised of board-certified radiologists, radiation oncologists, interventional radiologists, nuclear medicine physicians and medical physicists, and therefore has a legitimate interest in the CNN portrayal of radiology board certification.
  • Call for Volunteers
    Appointments to commissions, committees and task forces for service in 2012-2013 will be made this spring. If you would like to be considered for a position we will need to hear from you by February 29, 2012.
  • MPPR Policy Applied to Professional Component in 2012
    The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will begin applying its Multiple Procedure Payment Reduction (MPPR) policy to the professional component (PC) of certain diagnostic imaging services (computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasound). The policy, effective January 1, 2012, applies to all sites of service including physician offices, independent diagnostic testing facilities, and hospital-based practices.
  • E. Stephen Amis Jr., MD, Fellowship in Quality and Safety, Call for Applications
    The ACR Department of Quality and Safety is accepting applications from second, third and fourth year residents and fellows for its Amis Fellowship. The deadline for submission of applications is March 31, 2012.
  • ACR Comments to CMS Regarding MPPR and Other Provisions in the Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule
    The American College of Radiology (ACR) submitted official comments the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS regarding the final rule of the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The ACR’s Comments focused on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) implementation of a 25 percent multiple procedural reduction rule (MPPR) to the professional component of MR, CT and US studies, finalizing 2011 interim and 2012 proposed physician work and practice expense values and the Physician Quality Reporting System.
  • Congress Passes SGR Fix: Providers Should Submit Claims as They Normally Do
    On December 23, 2011, President Obama signed in to law HR 3765, the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011. It included a two-month extension of current Medicare payment rates, thereby averting a 27 percent payment reduction that was set to take place January 1, 2012, due to the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR).
  • Consensus on SGR Fix Eludes Congress; CMS to Temporarily Hold Processing Claims
    Absent the passage of compromise legislation in both the House and Senate, Medicare physician reimbursement rates for radiologists and all other physicians are scheduled to be reduced by 27.4 percent on January 1, 2012. These draconian cuts are directly attributed to the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula.
  • GE Chairman Jeffrey R. Immelt to Deliver Keynote Address at Radiology Leadership Institute Inaugural Event
    GE Chairman Jeffrey R. Immelt will provide the keynote address at the American College of Radiology’s Radiology Leadership Institute™ (RLI) inaugural event, July 12, 2012, at the Hotel Orrington on Northwestern University’s Evanston, IL, campus.
  • Congratulations and Thanks to ACR Members: CMS Will Not Apply MPPR To Group Practices In 2012
    Due to intensive educational efforts by the American College of Radiology, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has informed the ACR that “operational limitations” will prevent them from applying the imaging professional component Multiple Procedure Payment Reduction (MPPR) to group practices beginning January 1, 2012. Therefore, CMS will not apply the professional component MPPR for imaging services performed by separate physicians in the same group practice for 2012. This decision will affect both office and hospital practices.
  • ACR in Choosing Wisely Campaign to Promote Wise Use of Resources Among Physicians and Patients
    As part of its ongoing efforts to ensure safe, effective and appropriate medical imaging, the American College of Radiology has joined the ABIM Foundation and eight other medical specialty societies in Choosing Wisely. The new campaign promotes wise choices by physicians and patients to improve health outcomes, avoid unnecessary interventions and make efficient use of healthcare dollars.
  • RBMA Becomes First Affiliate of ACR’s Radiology Leadership Institute
    The Radiology Business Management Association (RBMA) is the first affiliate organization of the American College of Radiology’s Radiology Leadership Institute (RLI). This is the latest step in the development of the RLI — radiology’s first professional development and leadership academy — set to launch in July 2012.
  • FDA Approves the ACR to Accredit Planmed Nuance and Nuance Excel Full Field Digital Mammography Systems
    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the American College of Radiology (ACR) to accredit the Planmed Nuance and Nuance Excel full field digital mammography (FFDM) systems beginning December 27, 2011.
  • No Imaging Cuts in House SGR Bill
    The Middle Class Tax Relief & Job Creation Act (HR 3630) was introduced in the House on Dec. 9. HR 3630 prevents a 27 percent cut to Medicare physician reimbursement required by the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate formula. Largely due to ACR advocacy, there are no medical imaging cuts in HR 3630. More than $1.3 billion in imaging cuts had been considered at various times throughout this process.
  • Mammography Study in BMJ Flawed: Discredited Data Used Underestimate Lives Saved, Supposed Harms Overstated
    Discredited and obsolete data used in Raftery and Chorozoglou, published Dec. 8 in the British Medical Journal, underestimated lives saved by mammography screening by half. The authors’ comparison of anxiety from false positives to breast cancer deaths is also questionable.
  • H.R. 3269 Tops 100 Cosponsors, But More Needed
    ACR
    Although only recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, the ACR has amassed 110 bipartisan cosponsors for H.R. 3269, the Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act. If your Representative has not yet cosponsored the legislation, please contact them immediately.
  • New RTOG Phase II Study to Help Determine Best Treatment Strategies for Patients with Low-Risk, Low-Grade Glioma Brain Tumors
    The RTOG 0925 clinical trial seeks to determine if patients’ neurocognitive changes caused by tumor progression can help guide treatment decisions.
  • ACR Announces Debut of New AIRP Syllabus App
    The American Institute for Radiologic Pathology (AIRP), a program of the American College of Radiology, unveiled its new iPad® edition of the 2011 AIRP Radiologic Pathology Correlation Course Syllabus. The app — which is available now for purchase — will be updated regularly with the latest course material pertaining to the rad-path and categorical courses offered at AIRP.
  • Supercommittee Fails to Reach a Legislative Agreement; SGR Deadline Looms
    Despite several public hearings and numerous internal deliberations, the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction announced on November 21 that it was unable to bridge deep partisan divides and develop a legislative package to address the federal debt. The impasse centered on tax and entitlement reform.
  • Imaging Stakeholders Can Stop By The ACR Booth To Tell their Member Of Congress To Support The Diagnostic Imaging Services Protection Act
    In the ACR Booth (#4623) at the RSNA meeting in Chicago, The College will offer dedicated iPads where imaging stakeholders can tell their Member of Congress to cosponsor H.R. 3269, The Diagnostic Imaging Services Protection Act. Attendees can just enter their zip code and either thank their congressman for their support or tell them to get on board with H.R. 3269 with a click of a button.
  • Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Guidelines for Breast Cancer Screening Ignore Best Evidence and Would Cost Thousands of Lives Each Year
    New breast cancer screening guidelines by the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health (CTFOPH), which recommend against annual screening of women ages 40-49 and extending time between screens for older women, ignore results of landmark randomized control trials which show that regular screening significantly reduces breast cancer deaths in these women. While implementation of the CTFOPH guidelines may save money each year on screening costs, the result will be thousands of unnecessary breast cancer deaths.
  • Image Gently® and SNM “Go With the Guidelines” Campaign to Help “Child-Size” Pediatric Radiopharmaceutical Dose
    The Image Gently® campaign and the Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) have launched the “Go With the Guidelines” campaign to encourage community hospitals, academic hospitals and clinics to observe new North American Guidelines for Nuclear Medicine Radiopharmaceutical Dose in children. The dose recommendations, calculated on a ‘straight’ weight basis, have been tested in children’s hospitals and are compatible with high-quality imaging and further dose reduction in the first decades of life.
  • Important CMS/MIPPA accreditation news
    ACR Accreditation
    If the CMS accreditation mandate applies to you, and you have applied for ACR accreditation of advanced diagnostic imaging services (MRI, CT, nuclear medicine and PET exams), it is critical that you provide the NPI number your site registered on NPPES for their business name.
  • ACR Unveils RLI Core Areas of Study
    The Board of Directors of the American College of Radiology’s Radiology Leadership Institute™ (RLI) recently laid the foundation for radiology’s first professional development and leadership academy by establishing the RLI Common Body of Knowledge™ (CBK).
  • Imaging Cuts in 2012 Medicare Final Rule Unfounded and Potentially Dangerous
    While the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services -- in response to American College of Radiology data and a furious response from the imaging community -- revised the multiple procedure payment reduction for interpretation of imaging from 50 percent to 25 percent, the 25 percent cut is still unfounded and potentially dangerous. The unanticipated Final Rule expansion of this reduction to include multiple providers within the same group practice violates the spirit of the rulemaking process and indicates that CMS fundamentally misunderstands the practice of medicine.
  • CMS 2012 Accountable Care Organizations Final Rule
    The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act included a provisions termed the “Shared Savings Program”, a concept to implement a large scale, value-based purchasing program whereby providers are rewarded for high quality, efficient clinical care. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services intend to implement the Shared Savings Program through the use of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). The ACR has provided this summary of the CMS Final Rule on ACOs.
  • ACR Backed Diagnostic Imaging Services Protection Act Helps Preserve Access to Care
    The American College of Radiology supports the Diagnostic Imaging Services Protection Act (H.R. 3269), which would prohibit any multiple procedure payment reduction to the “professional component” of CT, MRI and ultrasound exams received by the same patient, on the same day, in the same setting in 2012. A 50 percent cut was included in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 2012 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule. Bipartisan H.R. 3269 was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives today by Reps. Pete Olson (R-TX) and Betty McCollum (D-MN). It was cosponsored by 31 House Members.
  • ACR Statement on Welch and Frankel Study in Archives of Internal Medicine
    No expert has argued in scientific support of mammography screening that, because someone claims their life was saved by screening, this, somehow, supports screening. All of the serious support for screening comes from data from randomized, controlled trials (RCT) and large observational studies that clearly show that deaths from breast cancer are reduced by early detection.
  • FDA Approves the ACR to Accredit Sectra MicroDose Mammography L30 Full-Field Digital System
    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the American College of Radiology (ACR) to accredit the Sectra MicroDose L30 full-field digital mammography (FFDM) system beginning October 21, 2011.
  • CMS Issues Final Rule on Accountable Care Organizations (ACO)
    HHS announces new incentives for providers to work together through Accountable Care Organizations when caring for people with Medicare
  • Former ACR Chair and President Elected to IOM
    James Hunter Thrall, MD, former chair of the American College of Radiology (ACR) Board of Chancellors, radiologist-in-chief at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School was recently elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies.
  • Last Opportunity to Apply for Exemption From Medicare e-Prescribing Program
    The vast majority of ACR members are automatically exempt from the incentives and penalties for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) e-Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program. In order to be subject to the eRx penalties, a physician would need to meet the criteria outlined here.
  • New National Poll: 89 Percent of Women Said Mammograms Vital to Their Health
    According to a recent poll of 1,000 American voters conducted for the American College of Radiology, nearly 9-in-10 women reported that having a regular mammogram gave them a feeling of control over their own health care. Nearly 90 percent of women who had a mammogram considered mammograms important to their health and well-being. The poll, conducted Aug. 31 – Sept. 6, also showed that 86 percent of women report having a mammogram in last two years.
  • NQF Formally Endorses ACR Performance Measure on Radiation Dose Index Registry
    On September 19, 2011, the National Quality Forum (NQF) formally endorsed a performance measure developed by the American College of Radiology. The measure, “Participation in a Systematic Dose Index Registry,” was submitted to NQF under the Patient Safety Measures project in February 2010. Since submission, the measure underwent an extensive review and approval period. The focus of the measure is participation in in a multi-center dose index registry that collects standardized data and provides feedback, such as the ACR Dose Index Registry.
  • ACR Announces Changes to Accreditation Criteria
    ACR
    The ACR accreditation committees continually assess the criteria used in their programs in the context of evolving practice patterns. Dr. John Patti, Chairman of the Board of Chancellors challenged the committees to update the criteria to make accreditation more scalable in the light of the Medicare mandate that most practices must become accredited in nearly all modalities.
  • ACR Breast MRI Accreditation Program Requirements Revised To Require Only One Case for Accreditation
    ACR
    The ACR Committee on Breast MRI Accreditation, chaired by Debra Monticciolo, MD and Edward Hendrick, PhD, recently updated the program’s requirements in an effort to streamline the accreditation process and aid facilities in complying with the upcoming deadline of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA).
  • ACR to Host First Annual Imaging Informatics Summit and Dose Monitoring Forum, Nov. 3-4
    Top radiology and policy experts will offer solutions to critical imaging informatics and radiation dose challenges at the First Annual ACR Imaging Informatics Summit and Dose Monitoring Forum. Radiologists, medical physicists, practice leaders and vendors are all encouraged to attend the two-day event being held Nov. 3-4 at the Washington Hilton.
  • ACR Opposes Imaging Provisions in Administration Debt Reduction Plan
    The American College of Radiology (ACR) states that imaging cuts in the administration’s deficit reduction proposal would restrict patient access to care and may actually raise costs. The ACR urges the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to reject the administration’s imaging recommendations and work with ACR and other imaging stakeholders to create policies that ensure safe, appropriate care, promote quality and protect patient access.
  • Attention: Change in Phantom Requirements for Nuclear Medicine Accreditation Program
    ACR
    After a review of the Nuclear Medicine Accreditation Program Requirements, the Subcommittee on Nuclear Medicine Physics has made the decision to eliminate the need for sites to submit SPECT phantoms utilizing T1201, Ga67, or In111.
  • ACR Opposes MedPAC Recommendations on the Sustainable Growth Rate
    The American College of Radiology is strongly in favor of serious and properly designed proposals to eliminate the Sustainable Growth Rate. However the College strongly opposes the draft recommendations released yesterday by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). These recommendations are not based in sound evidence and would only serve to fragment the physician community at a time when it must unify for the benefit of our patients.
  • ACR Sends Written Statement to Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction
    On Tuesday, September 13, the newly appointed members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (Joint Select Committee) held their first public hearing regarding the nation’s challenging fiscal situation. Since the threat of sequestration and the panel’s broad statutory mandate increases the likelihood that changes to the Medicare program will come under consideration, ACR submitted a formal statement for the hearing record urging the Joint Select Committee not to include cuts to diagnostic imaging services in any forthcoming legislative proposal.
  • September ACR Bulletin: Earthquake Damage to Haitian Healthcare Facilities — ACR Helps Rebuild
    The September ACR Bulletin digital edition includes an article and special video that shows what American College of Radiology representatives encountered while assessing damage to earthquake-stricken health facilities in Haiti. The article also offers links to donate money and support ongoing efforts to assist radiology in Haiti.
  • ACR to CMS: Remove Professional Component MPPR from Medicare Rule
    In comments on the 2012 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule, the American College of Radiology told the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that a proposed multiple procedure payment reduction (MPPR) to the professional component of imaging is scientifically unfounded, based on flawed assumptions and may limit patients’ ability to receive efficient care.
  • How to Submit Comments on 2012 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule
    August 4, 2011 Update — The 2012 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule was published in the Federal Register on July 19, 2011. The public may now register comments online until August 30, 2011.
  • Educate & Entertain Patients With The Scan Customizable Newsletter
    The summer 2011 issue of The Scan, 2-page, 4-color patient newsletter is available now. Place it in your waiting room or mail directly to patients!

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