Succeeds in educating and convincing CMS to forgo a 50% cut to mammography technical reimbursement
Convinces the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to abandon a proposal that would allow advanced practice nurses and certified nurse practitioners to interpret advanced medical imaging studies
Secures provision in the 21st Century Cures Act to identify and penalize anticompetitive information blocking by developers, hospitals and others ― a tactic that hinders use of EMR/EHR and negatively affects radiologists
Gains additional major insurer coverage for CT colonography (CTC)
Continues to work with patient groups, minority health care advocates and other medical societies to secure Medicare coverage for CTC
Quality & Safety
National Radiology Data Registry (NRDR®) launches the Interventional Radiology Registry — led by the ACR and the Society of Interventional Radiology — to promote high-quality interventional radiology patient care
Interactive, radiology-specific Quality Payment Program website helps members select relevant measures and achieve success in accordance with the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA)
NRDR supports 2016 PQRS participation for 1,794 radiologists
ACR Dose Index Registry® collects a total of about 43 million exams from nearly 2,000 facilities
Radiology Support, Communication and Alignment Network (R-SCAN™) recruits 4,596 radiologists and 5,380 referring clinicians
ACR BI-RADS® Atlas now in 7 languages: English, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Greek
Image Wisely®, adult radiation safety initiative, changes its pledge to an annual commitment to image wisely
Image Gently®, pediatric radiation safety initiative, launches the Think A-Head campaign with the American College of Emergency Physicians and American Academy of Pediatrics as well as the Have-A-Heart campaign with the American College of Cardiology, American Academy of Pediatrics and others
Imaging 3.0™
New Imaging 3.0 NOW case study format provides radiologists with highly actionable initiatives for immediate implementation
Putting Patients First: Emory University Radiology
The Commodity-Proof Radiologist in the JACR® (with accompanying video) compares hospital-based diagnostic radiology practices in the United States to those in the United Kingdom
Radiologyinfo.org, the #1 radiology patient information website hosted by the ACR and RSNA, serves 1M+ visitors every month, providing comprehensive descriptions and videos of 230 procedures, exams and health conditions
Six patient advisors join the RSNA-ACR Public Information Website Committee to provide insights for strategic planning and content decisions
Commission on Patient- and Family-Centered Care establishes 6 committees that work together to coordinate activities with input from 138 members and 24 patients as well as patient advocates and affiliated health care professionals
New PFCC Resources and the PFCC Toolkit generate 63% return visits
Ongoing partnerships with the following organizations:
National Health Service in the United Kingdom
American Hospital Association
Council of Medical Specialty Societies
Society for Participatory Medicine
The Beryl Institute
Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care
Society of Breast Imaging
Imaging Informatics
Generates artificial Intelligence solutions for clinical workflow with ACR Assist™, working with vendors to integrate expert-based algorithms into clinical decision support
Expands RCMS structured learning and assessment platform, building curricula and delivering DICOM-enabled learning activities online, expands Radiology TEACHES ― a simulation-based educational program that integrates with ACR Select®. ACR Select is a digital representation of the ACR Appropriateness Criteria® for diagnostic imaging, is a module contained within CareSelect Imaging.
TI-RADS™ registry studies the impact of detection and intervention on patient outcomes
Commences radiomic assessment of imaging data in 2 large imaging cohorts and adopts quantitative imaging tools in collaboration with the Quantitative Imaging Network
Two new prospective trials involving use of advanced radiotracers studies the ability to predict response to therapy
Neuroradiology Research Program completes accrual for first aim of the IDEAS Study and provides patient access to over 12,000 PET scans under coverage with evidence development
Two new studies with NRG Oncology assess the impact of innovative uses of proton beam RT on patient outcomes
NEJM publishes a practice-changing study with NRG Oncology, demonstrating the value of adding anti-androgen therapy to radiation, resulting in improved overall survival for men with recurrent or persistent prostate cancer
Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute®
Continues to provide the foundation for improving patient care and bolstering efficient, effective use of health care resources
Publishes 33 papers to appear in top scientific journals
Releases new video highlighting the Neiman Institute as a thought leader in evidence-based imaging policy
Launches the Breast Screening Bundle Tool for radiology practices to estimate prices for breast cancer screening bundles
Radiology Leadership Institute® (RLI)
Celebrates its 5th year with 13.5% participation growth, exceeding 4,000 registrants
Awards 272 leadership certificates across all levels
260+ residents from 19 residency programs participate in the 2016–2017 RLI Health Care Economics Milestones Program
Presents lectures at 13 ACR state chapter meetings
Awards 28 residents and physicians with RLI scholarships to attend the RLI Summit and ACR-RBMA Practice Leaders Meeting
ACR Education Center
79 radiologists attend Education Center courses in Australia — two in HRCT and one emergency radiology — in partnership with RANZCR
Promoted as the most intensive, rewarding training for radiologists outside of North America
Holds first-ever Body and Pelvic MRI course at the University of Arizona in Tucson with 23 attendees
American Institute for Radiologic Pathology (AIRP®)
Delivers five, 4-week Radiologic Pathology Correlation Courses to 1,472 registered attendees and 302 foreign residents
Conducts global outreach in 10 countries with 14 international courses
Publishes 12 new Rad-Path Dx cases
Continuous Professional Improvement (CPI)
Publishes 4 new self-assessment modules relating to core American Board of Radiology (ABR) categories — musculoskeletal, pediatric, breast and chest — in print, online and e-book formats
eLearning
New RADAR 2 with all-new self-assessments, two new panels in medical physics and non-interpretive skills, more images, and content that aligns with ABR exam blueprints
2 new Image Wisely® safety cases including one developed by ACR Valerie P. Jackson Fellow — Nina Meyersohn, MD
Completes the 5-year CDC/NIOSH contract including development of a new digital self-study syllabus and new B-Reader Certification Exam, based entirely on digitally acquired chest images
Selected by the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer to design and develop an online educational course required for accreditation as a Rectal Cancer Program
Membership Value
Launches Engage ― an online member community ― to foster member engagement, leading to 13 all-member open communities and 30 closed communities with over 1,000 new discussions and 32,000 daily digests
Launches publication of all ACR Appropriateness Criteria® in collaboration with patient advocate associate editors and the Appropriateness Criteria Committee ― an invaluable resource for patient education
Releases special issues on informatics, breast cancer, machine learning, and the ACR Annual Meeting
Offers bonus content online and increases readership to more than 32,500
ACR Foundation
Shifted the ACR Foundation focus to health policy research to provide data that can clarify the role and value of radiology in evolving practice models and patient care
Received a challenge grant for $100,000 for health policy research and successfully met the match, prompting an additional annual $100,000 match from the ACR for each of the next three years
Collected more than 158 pledges for the RLI Fund from ACR leaders, individual members as well as chapters and corporations to promote leadership training, technology development and scholarships
The ACR Council considers 45 resolutions during the 2017 Council meeting including 5 policy resolutions, 2 bylaws amendments and 35 Practice Parameters and Technical Standards
