Breast Biopsy Needle Shortage
ACR offers this information for breast imaging physicians and practices to mitigate care disruptions tied to a shortage of stereotactic breast biopsy needles.
Read moreNew Phantoms Approved
Read moreBreast Biopsy Needle Shortage
ACR warns a breast biopsy needle shortage may disrupt care through 2026 and is urging FDA, industry and providers to coordinate.
Read moreDIR participants can now designate a registry administrator for each DIR module: CT, Fluoroscopy, Digital Radiography and Nuclear Medicine (the latter two are in the pilot phase). This change allows facilities to designate a module-specific point person to receive NRDR communications. For example, the registry administrator for CT will receive DIR CT updates and notices, and the registry administrator for Fluoro will receive DIR-Fluoro updates and notices.
The following NRDR Support Knowledge Base articles provide information about creating and managing user accounts and profiles:
Check out these related DIR resources:
The 3DP Registry committee has worked diligently over the past year to implement new data submission strategies to minimize the staff time required to submit data to the registry. This work was pursued to advance the goals of the joint ACR-Radiological Society of North America registry to characterize the clinical indications, resource utilization and clinical impact of 3DP. The intended outcome is to develop benchmarks based on current practice, enable quality improvement and provide CMS with data required for reimbursement considerations.
New enhancements include:
“We’ve been fortunate to have a dedicated core group of practices that have submitted thousands of 3DP cases since the inception of the registry in 2020,” says 3DP Registry Committee Co-Chair Kenneth C. Wang, MD, PhD, a radiologist at the Baltimore VA Medical Center and an adjunct associate professor at the University of Maryland. “Their feedback has led to improvements in the data submission process, and we invite all practices performing 3D printing at the point of care to join the registry. Participants gain access to data, which provides insights into their own practice of 3DP, allows practitioners to demonstrate value within their own institutions, and also enables them to gauge their own methods and workflows against those of the broader registry community.”
Check out these related 3DP resources:
The LCSR is expanding to incorporate a module that will provide insight into the management of actionable incidental pulmonary nodules (IPNs): Those nodules that warrant ongoing observation, additional diagnostic testing or treatment. The ACR received a grant award focused on developing diagnostic performance feedback for physicians participating in quality improvement registries for the IPN module planning phase.
Alongside lung cancer screening, the management of IPNs presents a significant opportunity for the early detection of lung cancer. However, many reports indicate that radiologists did not adequately complete recommended follow-ups for patients with actionable IPNs within the identified time frame, potentially leading to delayed cancer diagnoses. The IPN module aims to address this issue by providing facilities with feedback on the effectiveness of their IPN follow-up tracking processes. This will equip LCSR participants with crucial data for quality improvement and enhanced patient care opportunities.
Ella A. Kazerooni, MD, MS, FACR, and Ben C. Wandtke, MD, MS, are co-leading the planning and development of this module, building on the IPN measure developed by the Recommendations Follow-Up Improvement Collaborative and the Closing the Recommendations Follow-up on Actionable Incidental Findings initiative. These measures are likely to form the basis for performance measurement in the IPN module.
Most recently, the IPN planning grant team is soliciting input from relevant ACR committees (e.g., LCSR, LCS Steering, Incidental Finding and Lung-RADS®) about including topics such as critical data fields in the module and about standardizing terminology for IPN management with Fleischner Society guidelines serving as the basis. Fleischner Society criteria provide guidelines for the management and follow-up of incidental findings on chest imaging, including pulmonary nodules. By aligning with these criteria, the IPN registry can ensure consistency and standardization in reporting and managing IPNs, thereby facilitating communication and collaboration among healthcare providers and researchers.
Read the Voice of Radiology blog post, Harnessing the Value of Clinical Registries, to learn more about the LCSR expansion.
