The American College of Radiology® (ACR®) proudly announces the 30-day Closing the Results Follow-up Loop on Incidental Findings Measure Set public comment period. The quality measure set aims to improve the adherence to radiologic-recommended follow-up imaging of incidental findings while improving care coordination among radiologists and other clinicians. We invite you to submit your comments about the quality measures in the set and distribute this announcement to other radiologists, referring clinicians, facility administrators and patients to share their comments.
Comments received during the public comment period will influence the ACR technical expert panel (TEP) work supported by The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Diagnostic Excellence Initiative. The panel will incorporate input from the 30-day public comment period when refining the measure set’s ability to improve adherence to evidence-based follow-up recommendations for incidentally detected abnormal imaging findings.
Nadja Kadom, MD, Director of Pediatric Neuroradiology and Director of Quality in the radiology department at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and co-chair of the Closing the Results Follow-up Loop measure development TEP emphasized that, upon completion, this measure set presents tremendous opportunities to improve the delivery of evidence-based radiologist-recommended follow-up care. “As a result, we expect to see a greater volume of patients benefiting from the early detection of cancer or other treatable conditions and significantly better outcomes,” Dr. Kadom said.
Please support this initiative by participating in the comment period and encouraging other radiologists, referring clinicians, facility administrators and patients to share their experiences and preferences.
Please visit acr.org to access the public comment period portal, and submit your comments by Jan. 7, 2021.