Call to Action: Support Physician B Readers

Interested American College of Radiology® (ACR®) members are encouraged to provide comments to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) regarding the controversial concept of nurse practitioner (NP) and physician assistant (PA) eligibility for B Reader certification. This idea was discussed, but not proposed, in the agency’s recent request for information (RFI).  B Readers are physicians certified by NIOSH to classify chest radiographic images of workers exposed to coal mine dust, crystalline silica or asbestos for pneumoconiosis surveillance programs. 

ACR filed comments in late February that opposed expansion to NPs and PAs, identified issues with the NIOSH program and related surveillance programs, recommended solutions, and answered the questions from the agency’s RFI.  The College’s comments were guided by its Federal Regulatory Committee and informed by extensive feedback from the B Reader community about their real-world experiences, case volumes, needs and capabilities. 

Interested members can submit comments by the March 17 deadline.  All submitted comments are on-record and publicly accessible. For more information, contact Mike Peters, ACR Senior Government Affairs Director.