American College of Radiology
Stop Imaging Cuts
  • ACR Comments on Latest 'Meaningful Use' Proposed Rules
    On May 4, 2012, the American College of Radiology (ACR) submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for HIT (ONC) regarding the agencies' March 7, 2012, proposed rules to revise and update the professional and technology requirements of the EHR Incentive Program (“meaningful use”). The ACR IT and Informatics Committee (ITIC) - Government Relations Subcommittee compiled the comments with feedback from ACR members, allied organizations and other stakeholders.
  • Enrollment for ACR’s Radiology Leadership Institute™ Now Open
    The American College of Radiology’s (ACR) Radiology Leadership Institute™ (RLI) — radiology’s most comprehensive professional development and leadership academy — is now open for enrollment. RLI enrollment is free and open to all of those interested in participating in RLI’s one-of-a-kind, premier leadership training created specifically for the field of radiology. Participants must be enrolled in order to register for RLI courses, track their credits and earn leadership certificates through RLI’s multi-level curriculum.
  • Paul Ellenbogen, MD, Elected Chair of the American College of Radiology Board of Chancellors
    Paul Ellenbogen, MD, FACR, of Dallas, was elected chair of the American College of Radiology (ACR) Board of Chancellors. Ellenbogen is a senior attending radiologist at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, and a partner in Radiology Associates of North Texas. He is also a clinical professor of radiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas.
  • Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act Introduced in Senate
    On April 25, 2012, Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and David Vitter (R-LA) introduced S. 2347, the Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act in the U.S. Senate. This ACR supported legislation stops the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from implementing a 25 percent reduction to the professional component of certain diagnostic imaging services for multiple imaging studies administered to the same patient, by physicians in the same practice setting, on the same day.
  • AMCLC Wrap-Up: April 24, 2012
    Speakers urge members to enhance radiology's relevancy and mitigate uncritical imaging.
  • AMCLC Wrap-Up: April 23, 2012
    Day Two program details new alliances and adding value in imaging.
  • American College of Radiology Statement on Reporting Breast Density in Mammography Reports and Patient Summaries
    The ACR recommends that all stakeholders proceed with caution in considering a statutory or legislative mandate to include breast parenchymal density information in the patient summary or to require that patients receive copies of their imaging reports sent to their ordering physician.
  • 2012 ACR AMCLC Election Results
    Results of the 2012 AMCLC Election.
  • AMCLC Wrap-Up: April 22, 2012
    AMCLC 2012 underscores the importance of advocacy and engagement.
    By Brett Hansen and Alyssa Martino
  • ACR/RBMA Issue Updated Best Practices Guidelines on Radiology Benefit Management Companies
    The ACR and RBMA have developed best practice guidelines for third-party payors, managed care organizations (MCOs), radiology benefit managers (RBMs), and imaging providers for use when implementing or evaluating a Radiology Benefits Management Program (RBMP).
  • FDA Approves the ACR to Accredit Konica Minolta Xpress Computed Radiography System
    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the American College of Radiology (ACR) to accredit the Konica Minolta Xpress full-field digital mammography (FFDM) system beginning April 27, 2012.
  • FDA: Bacteria Found in Other-Sonic Generic Ultrasound Transmission Gel Poses Risk of Infection
    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently issued an alert to health care professionals and facilities advising them to STOP using Other-Sonic Generic Ultrasound Transmission Gel manufactured June through December 2011 because of bacterial contamination.
  • Perlman Named Chief Medical Officer of ACR Image Metrix™
    The American College of Radiology (ACR) has named medical imaging contract-research veteran Eric S. Perlman, MD, chief medical officer of ACR Image Metrix™. Image Metrix is a leading imaging contract research organization (CRO) and for-profit subsidiary of the ACR.
  • CMS Announces First 27 Accountable Care Organizations
    On April 10, 2012, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the selection of the first 27 accountable care organizations (ACOs) to participate in the Medicare Shared Saving Program (Shared Savings Program).
  • ACR Identifies List of Commonly Used – But not Always Necessary – Imaging Exams as Part of Choosing Wisely® Campaign
    As part of its ongoing efforts to ensure safe, effective and appropriate use of medical imaging, the American College of Radiology (ACR) identified a list of five imaging exams whose necessity should be discussed before being ordered. The list, created as part of the Choosing Wisely® campaign, initiated by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation, provides evidence-based recommendations to support physicians working with patients to make wise choices about medical imaging care.
  • Annual Screening Ultrasound Added to Mammography Significantly Increases Invasive Breast Cancer Detection in Women at Elevated Risk
    Results of an American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) trial reported April 4 in the Journal of American Medical Association confirms a significant breast cancer detection benefit of supplementing annual mammography screening with ultrasound in women at elevated risk due to dense breast tissue and at least one additional risk factor such as a personal and/or family history of the disease. The study also found that a single screening MRI following three years of annual mammography and ultrasound screenings identified additional cancers. The vast majority of additional cancers detected by the supplemental ultrasound and MRI screenings were early-stage invasive cancers that had not spread to the lymph nodes.
  • ACR/SBI Statement on Kalager et al: Overdiagnosis of Cancer from Mammograms Overstated, Lives Saved Underestimated
    In an analysis of Norwegian mammography screening program data, Kalager et al report in the current issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine that the estimated rate of cancer overdiagnosis (detection of cancer at screening that otherwise would not have been detected in a person’s lifetime) ranges from 15 percent to 25 percent. As with the authors’ initial publication in the New England Journal of Medicine, the analysis is flawed, leading to an overestimate of overdiagnosis and thus invalid conclusions about the value of mammography.
  • FDA Approves ACR to Accredit Fuji Aspire HD (FDR) Full-Field Digital System
    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the American College of Radiology (ACR) to accredit the Fuji Aspire HD (FDR) full-field digital mammography (FFDM) system beginning April 10, 2012. The ACR will begin contacting facilities which already use the Fuji Aspire HD (FDR) systems under an FDA-approved extended MQSA certificate to advise them of this change and how to proceed with accreditation. Such facilities need not take any action towards accreditation until they are contacted by the ACR, and are permitted to operate during the transition period.
  • Top Radiology and Business Professionals Tackle Critical Issues Facing Today’s Radiology Leaders at ACR’s Radiology Leadership Institute™ Inaugural Event
    The American College of Radiology’s (ACR) Radiology Leadership Institute™ (RLI) has released the official program for the RLI Inaugural Event, to be held July 12-15, 2012, at the Kellogg School of Management on Northwestern University’s Evanston, IL, campus. This one-time only event features renowned Kellogg faculty, radiology thought leaders and keynote speaker, Jeffrey R. Immelt, chairman and CEO of General Electric. The event will offer a total of 20.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.
  • Coronary CT Angiography Safe, Time Saving, and More Effective than Traditional Care for Evaluating Patients Arriving at Emergency Department with Chest Pain
    Coronary CT angiography (CCTA) scans allow doctors to determine safely and more quickly which patients at low-to intermediate-risk for a heart attack can be discharged from hospital emergency departments than traditional methods, according to the results of a large, multicenter American College of Radiology Imaging Network trial published online March 26 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
  • House Passes ACR Backed PATH Act: Includes Medical Liability Reform Bill, Repeals Independent Payment Advisory Board
    On March 22, 2012, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5, the Protecting Access to Healthcare (PATH) Act. This bill would accomplish two important legislative priorities for the American College of Radiology: repeal of the flawed Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) and implementation of meaningful medical liability reform.
  • AAPM Issues Statement on Use of Bismuth Shielding for the Purpose of Dose Reduction in CT Scanning
    According to the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), bismuth shielding has been used to reduce the dose from CT to superficial radiosensitive organs, such as the breast, lens of the eye, and thyroid. Thus, some practices are strongly in favor of their use. However, bismuth shielding degrades image quality, attenuates photons exiting the patient, and causes unpredictable results when combined with automatic exposure control systems. Thus, other practices are strongly opposed to their use. The purpose of this AAPM position statement is to provide information regarding the potential drawbacks of using bismuth shields, and to encourage users to carefully consider alternative methods that may not suffer from these same limitations.
  • Imaging Contract-Research Pioneer, Donald P. Rosen, MD, Named CEO of ACR Image Metrix™
    The American College of Radiology (ACR) has named medical imaging contract-research pioneer and distinguished physician, Donald P. Rosen, MD, chief executive officer of ACR Image Metrix™. Image Metrix is a leading imaging contract research organization (CRO) and for-profit subsidiary of the ACR.
  • American College of Radiology Education Center Launches Debut Course on High-Resolution CT of the Chest
    The American College of Radiology (ACR) Education Center is offering its first ever course on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of the chest, April 20-22, 2012, in Reston, VA. Led by leading chest imaging experts from the Fleischner Society, the course is designed to provide practicing radiologists with the skills and understanding necessary to interpret HRCT of the chest in diffuse infiltrative lung diseases — a group of lung disorders in which the deep lung tissues become inflamed.
  • ACR Backed Bill to Gain Medicare Coverage for Virtual Colonoscopy Introduced in House
    Following a recent call by the ACR and the Colon Cancer Alliance for Medicare coverage of CT Colonography, known as virtual colonoscopy, Reps. Ralph Hall (R-TX) and Danny Davis (D-IL) have introduced the CT Colonography Screening for Colorectal Cancer Act (H.R. 4165) in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill would require coverage of virtual colonoscopy as a colon cancer screening benefit under Medicare.
  • World Class Experts Address Today’s Hottest Breast Cancer Issues at 35th National Conference on Breast Cancer
    Renowned breast cancer care experts will address hot-button issues, including tailored breast cancer screening, the role of ultrasound and MRI in women with dense breasts and the latest breast imaging technologies — tomosynthesis and molecular imaging — at the 35th National Conference on Breast Cancer. The event will take place April 13–15, 2012, at the Westin Diplomat in Hollywood, FL.
  • Collaborative RTOG and ACRIN Trial Launched to Evaluate Adaptive Radiotherapy with FDG-PET/CT for Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
    The phase II joint RTOG 1106 /ACRIN 6697 trial activated on February 22, 2012, will evaluate whether information gained from an FDG-PET/CT scan during the course of radiotherapy (RT), can facilitate individualized adaptive therapy for patients with stage III, inoperable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The investigators hope to learn if adaptive RT improves local regional tumor control of a patient’s cancer compared with standard RT treatment.
  • CMS National Provider Call: Overview and Listening Session on Stage 2 Requirements for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs (Meaningful Use)
    On Monday March 12 from 12:30-2 p.m. EDT, CMS will host a National Provider Call to provide an overview of the Stage 2 proposed rule announced on Feb. 23, 2012. The call will outline requirements and other changes to the “Meaningful Use” program. (CMS plans to hold another National Provider Call on program basics for Eligible Professionals on Tue Mar 27; more information about this call will be available soon.)
  • H.R. 3269 Tops 200 Cosponsors, More Needed
    The American College of Radiology has amassed 208 bipartisan co-sponsors for H.R. 3269, the Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act. H.R. 3269 would repeal the CMS mandated payment reduction to the professional component of Medicare reimbursement for multiple diagnostic imaging services administered by the same physician, to the same patient, at the same session.
  • Mammography Articles Refute Mistaken Claims
    ACR members authored two articles appearing in the March issue of American Journal of Roentgenology that refute mistaken claims regarding mammography effectiveness and radiation risk.
  • ACR’s Radiology Leadership Institute™ Teams with Harvard Business Publishing to Create Customized Leadership Development Program
    The American College of Radiology’s (ACR) Radiology Leadership Institute™ (RLI) has partnered with Harvard Business Publishing to develop a customized leadership development program for the RLI. The goal of the program, expected to start in fall 2012, is to equip radiologists with the leadership skills required to successfully navigate the complex business of medicine.
  • ACR Reopens Valerie P. Jackson Education Fellowship
    The American College of Radiology’s (ACR) Valerie P. Jackson Education Fellowship is now open for applications. The one-week fellowship provides the opportunity for radiology professionals to gain exposure to the operation of the ACR Education Department, which is responsible for providing educational activities that meet the educational needs of radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and radiologic technologists through live meetings, enduring materials, Education Center courses and online educational activities.
  • CMS Proposed Rule for Stage 2 Meaningful Use Released for Public Comment: Many ACR Recommendations Included
    The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Stage 2 Meaningful Use on the Office of the Federal Register’s Public Inspection Desk. The HHS Office of the National Coordinator for HIT’s (ONC) proposed rule on Stage 2 EHR standards, specifications, and certification criteria is still to come. At the HIMSS 2012 Annual Conference, both CMS and ONC staff indicated several ACR recommendations are included in the proposed rules.
  • Colon Cancer Alliance and American College of Radiology: Medicare Must Make Virtual Colonoscopy Coverage a Reality for Seniors
    The largest study of the efficacy of virtual colonoscopy (CT colonography) in Americans ages 65 and older, published online Feb. 23 in Radiology, has confirmed the “virtual” exam is comparably effective to standard colonoscopy at detecting colorectal cancer and precancerous polyps in older seniors. Due to these results, those of a landmark 2008 study in the New England Journal of Medicine involving patients ages 50 and older, and the multitude of trials with similar positive outcomes since, the Colon Cancer Alliance and American College of Radiology call on Medicare to cover seniors for virtual colonoscopy.
  • Congress Passes Conference Committee Legislation; SGR Cuts Averted for Ten Months
    In a rare demonstration of bipartisanship and compromise, the House and Senate passed a revised version of H.R. 3630, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, which ensures that physicians will avoid a 27.4 percent cut in Medicare reimbursement for an additional ten months. In lieu of the schedule cuts which were expected to be enacted on March 1, physician payment rates will be frozen at their current level through December 31, 2012. Federal lawmakers did not include any cuts to diagnostic imaging services within H.R. 3630.
  • HHS to Delay ICD-10 Compliance Date
    Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius has announced that HHS will initiate a process to delay the implementation date of mandatory use of ICD-10. Currently the date that physician practices must be in compliance is Oct. 1, 2013. Many physicians have expressed concern that the compliance requirements for ICD-10, in addition to deadlines for many other initiatives, have caused a huge administrative burden.
  • Imaging Cuts in Administration's Budget Unfounded and May Create Barriers to Care for America’s Seniors
    Medical imaging cuts included in the Administration’s proposed budget are not only unsupported, but together with more than $6 billion in imaging cuts since 2007, threaten patient access to care and may actually raise long term Medicare costs. The American College of Radiology calls on Congress to reject what would be the eighth cut to Medicare funding for imaging scans in the last six years and protect the ability of seniors to receive this live-saving care.
  • Affordable Care Act Implementation – Proposed Accessibility Standards for Medical Diagnostic Equipment Published for Comment
    On Feb. 9, the U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) published its long-anticipated proposed rule on standards for medical diagnostic equipment related to accessibility for individuals with disabilities. The proposed standards address a wide variety of medical equipment, including examination tables, examination chairs, weight scales, mammography equipment and other imaging equipment.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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 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.
  • 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).
  • 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.
  • 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.

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