Lung Cancer Screening Registry FAQ 

Why should I participate in the ACR Lung Cancer Screening Registry?

Medicare requires data submission to an approved clinical practice registry as a condition for reimbursement for lung cancer screening exams. The ACR Lung Cancer Screening Registry (LCSR) is approved by CMS for this purpose. 

As a CMS-approved lung cancer screening clinical practice registry, we require data to be submitted on all patients who undergo screening at your facility. We will provide participating facilities with facility-level and physician-level reports that contain comparisons between you and your peers on measures of interpretive quality. We will submit data to CMS to validate registry participation. 

If you are already a participant in NRDR, add LCSR to your NRDR registration.

Can a physician radiology group register?

Yes. The new facility registration form can be used by facilities, physician groups or other entities to register the locations at which you practice. If your group practices at many locations, please see section 7 of the NRDR knowledge base for step-by-step instructions.

What's the difference between the Lung Cancer Screening Registry and the ACR Lung Cancer Screening Center Designation?

	Lung Cancer Screening Registry	ACR Lung Cancer Screening Center Designation
Required for CMS reimbursement	Yes	No
Availability	Available to all facilities Registration starting May 2015 Data submission: Summer 2015	Available to all facilities that have achieved ACR CT Accredidation in at least the chest module
Fee	Dependent upon number of radiologists and sites involved	$400 per facility
Web Address	https://www.acr.org/Clinical-Resources/Lung-Cancer-Screening-Resources	http://www.acraccreditation.org/lung-cancer-screening-center
Submission requirements	Collect required data elements for submission to the registry interface	Mail or fax application, signed attestation, completed clinical data form with lung cancer screening protocol (based on average-size patient study) and fee
Specifications	Data Elements Dictionary (see Lung Cancer Screening Registry webpage)	Technical Specifications
Summary	The ACR Lung Cancer Screening Registry is approved by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to enable providers to meet quality reporting requirements to receive Medicare CT lung cancer screening payment.	The ACR Lung Cancer Screening Center Designation makes your site notable as a provider of safe, effective diagnostic care for those considered at high risk for lung cancer.

Do we have to report patient names, Social Security numbers and Medicare beneficiary IDs? Our legal staff is reluctant to release this information due to privacy concerns

No. We do, however, require a patient ID that uniquely identifies each patient within your facility. It is important to note that without the Medicare beneficiary ID, we will be unable to document your compliance with the CMS reimbursement requirement to submit low-dose CT lung cancer screening data to a registry.

Are we required to report data on non-Medicare patients?

Yes. Documenting compliance with CMS reimbursement requirements is only one of the purposes of the LCSR. It primarily serves as a quality improvement tool for studying the benefits of low-dose CT lung cancer screening. By signing the LCSR participation agreement, you agree to report all low-dose CT lung cancer screening exams.

Why is the LCSR collecting data elements that aren't required by CMS?

In order for CMS to approve the LCSR for meeting quality reporting requirements for reimbursement, the ACR submitted an application demonstrating the LCSR’s value for the assessment of quality of low-dose CT lung cancer screening. A panel of experts from the LCSR Committee determined which data elements would be essential for monitoring the quality of low-dose CT lung cancer screening. Because screening is performed on an asymptomatic population, there is an added responsibility for the medical community to ensure that risks and benefits are adequately measured and monitored. The additional data elements are essential for monitoring quality and ensuring that the benefits of screening in clinical practice meet or exceed the benefits found in research.

How often should I submit low-dose screening data to the LCSR?

You can submit data to the LCSR according to your schedule; however, we suggest that you submit data monthly.

When can I bill CMS for the technical and professional components of diagnostic imaging services — is it before or after submitting data to the LCSR?

The time at which you bill for either component is entirely up to your workflow; however, it is assumed that you have submitted the low-dose CT exam data to the registry first.

How will CMS know that I have submitted low-dose lung screening data to the LCSR?

We send quarterly reports to CMS that detail the exam information provided to us during your data submission.

Should our radiologists use the ACR Lung Imaging Reporting and Data System (Lung-RADS™) in their dictation?

For the purposes of reporting to the LCSR data registry, your facility or group of radiologists should provide Lung-RADS Assessment Categories to the registry. We strongly recommend including the Lung-RADS Assessment in the radiologist’s final report, so it can be provided to the registry.