Patient and Physician Groups Call on Medicare to Cover Virtual Colonoscopy
Key PointsThe American College of Radiology, Colon Cancer Alliance, Colon Cancer Coalition and Prevent Cancer Foundation call on CMS to open a national coverage determination for virtual colonoscopy screening.Virtual colonoscopy (known as CT colonography) offers seniors a less invasive option to optical colonoscopy, which is shown to increase screening rates. Increased screening can save thousands more lives each year.Under the Affordable Care Act, private insurers will soon be required to cover virtual colonoscopy with no co-pay. Medicare coverage for virtual colonoscopy would allow seniors covered-access to these lifesav...
Source: American College of Radiology - August 15, 2016 Category: Radiology Source Type: news
Image Wisely Posts Latest RSNA Dose Exhibit
Image Wisely® offers an eighth online radiation and patient dose exhibit,“Technical Parameters to Optimize Body Imaging in Polytrauma,” which highlights radiologist selectable parameters and their influence on image quality.
Review the latest offering in a curated series ofelectronic education exhibits from Image Wisely. (Source: American College of Radiology)
Source: American College of Radiology - August 9, 2016 Category: Radiology Source Type: news
RADPAC Draws Attention at National Conventions
Representatives of RADPAC®, the American College of Radiology Association's political action committee, met with nearly 100 members of Congress to discuss mutual interests at the recent Republican and Democratic national conventions in Cleveland and Philadelphia.continue reading article» (Source: American College of Radiology)
Source: American College of Radiology - August 8, 2016 Category: Radiology Source Type: news
ACR Digital Mammography Quality Control Manual Now Available
The objective of this manual is to ensure high-quality digital mammograms while keeping radiation doses low.
Free webinars are being developed to aid technologists and medical physicists with how to use the new QC manual and phantom. For more information, visit the ACR Digital Mammography Quality Control Manual Frequently Asked Questions on theACR Mammography Accreditation webpage. (Source: American College of Radiology)
Source: American College of Radiology - August 2, 2016 Category: Radiology Source Type: news
ACR Members Appointed to Key CMS MACRA Committee
Ezequiel Silva III, MD, FACR, Gregory Nicola, MD, and Joshua Hirsch, MD, FACR & mdash; all experienced members of the American College of Radiology (ACR) leadership team & mdash; have been appointed to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) Episode Care Groups and Resource Use Measures Clinical Committee. < br / > < br / >
Convened by CMS, the MACRA Episode Care Groups and Resource Use Measures Clinical Committee will provide clinical input on the specifications for the care episode and patient condition groups that will be used as the basis for episode-ba...
Source: American College of Radiology - July 29, 2016 Category: Radiology Source Type: news
Radiology Trailblazers Named Leadership Luminaries
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Key Points < br / > < /strong > < ul > < li > < em > < strong > E. Stephen Amis Jr. < /strong > , MD, FACR, and < strong > Glendon G. Cox < /strong > , MD, MBA, MHSA, named < a href="http://www.radiologyleaders.org/" target="_blank" > Radiology Leadership Institute < /a > < sup > & reg; < /sup > < a href="http://www.radiologyleaders.org/program/luminary" target="_blank" > Leadership Luminaries < /a > < /em > < /li > < li > < em > To be recognized for exceptional experience, demonstrating leadership in organized radiology or organized medicine < /em > < /li > < li > < em > Awards to be presented at < a ...
Source: American College of Radiology - July 26, 2016 Category: Radiology Source Type: news
Gammex Inc. Approved to Produce New ACR Digital Mammography Phantom
The American College of Radiology (ACR) has approved Gammex Inc., a Sun Nuclear company, to produce and sell the new ACR Digital Mammography Phantom. Gammex earned this approval by submitting sample phantoms for testing and evaluation by an independent medical physicist. The sample phantoms met the required specifications, tolerances and performance requirements. The new phantom is intended for use with the new < a href="http://www.acraccreditation.org/~/media/ACRAccreditation/Documents/Mammography/DMQCFAQs_3-11-16.pdf?la=en" target="_blank" > ACR Digital Mammography Quality Control Manual < /a > , which is scheduled to be...
Source: American College of Radiology - July 26, 2016 Category: Radiology Source Type: news
HHS Issues New Nondiscrimination Provisions for Federally Funded Health Care Programs
Earlier this year, The Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS OCR) < a target="_blank" href="http://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2016/05/13/hhs-finalizes-rule-to-improve-health-equity-under-affordable-care-act.html" > finalized the rule under Section 1557 < /a > of the Affordable Care Act to advance health equity and reduce health disparities by strengthening protections for some of the populations that have been most vulnerable to discrimination in the health care context. < br / > < br / >
Section 1557 is the nondiscrimination provision of the Affordable Care Act and states that individuals...
Source: American College of Radiology - July 25, 2016 Category: Radiology Source Type: news
HHS Issues New Nondicrimination Provisions for Federally Funded Health Care Programs
Earlier this year, The Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS OCR) < a href="http://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2016/05/13/hhs-finalizes-rule-to-improve-health-equity-under-affordable-care-act.html" target="_blank" > finalized the rule under Section 1557 < /a > of the Affordable Care Act to advance health equity and reduce health disparities by strengthening protections for some of the populations that have been most vulnerable to discrimination in the health care context. < br / > < br / >
Section 1557 is the nondiscrimination provision of the Affordable Care Act and states that individuals...
Source: American College of Radiology - July 22, 2016 Category: Radiology Source Type: news
MRS Systems Approved for NMD 3.0 to Comply with the BI-RADS Atlas (Fifth Edition)
MRS Systems has become the first licensed vendor to successfully complete the American College of Radiology < a href="http://www.acr.org/Quality-Safety/National-Radiology-Data-Registry/National-Mammography-DB" target="_blank" > National Mammography Database < /a > (NMD) 3.0 testing and achieve full compliance with the < a href="http://www.acr.org/Quality-Safety/Resources/BIRADS" target="_blank" > Breast Imaging and Data Reporting System (BI-RADS < sup > & reg; < /sup > ) Atlas < /a > (Fifth Edition, & nbsp;2013). (Source: American College of Radiology)
Source: American College of Radiology - July 21, 2016 Category: Radiology Source Type: news
MRS Approved for NMD 3.0 to Comply with the BI-RADS Atlas (Fifth Edition)
Mammography Reporting Systems (MRS) has become the first licensed vendor to successfully complete the American College of Radiology National Mammography Database (NMD) 3.0 testing and achieve full compliance with the Breast Imaging and Data Reporting System (BI-RADS®) Atlas (Fifth Edition, 2013). (Source: American College of Radiology)
Source: American College of Radiology - July 18, 2016 Category: Radiology Source Type: news
CIRS Approved to Produce New ACR Digital Mammography Phantom
The American College of Radiology has approved Computerized Imaging Reference Systems Inc. (CIRS) to produce and sell the new ACR Digital Mammography Phantom. CIRS earned this approval by submitting two sample phantoms for testing and evaluation by an independent medical physicist. Both of the sample phantoms met the required specifications, tolerances and performance requirements. The new phantom is intended for use with the new ACR Digital Mammography Quality Control Manual, which is scheduled to be released late in July. For more information on the new ACR phantom, contact wcreech@acr.org. (Source: American College of Radiology)
Source: American College of Radiology - July 15, 2016 Category: Radiology Source Type: news
The Joint Commission Creates Compliance Checklist for Diagnostic Imaging
The Joint Commission (TJC) has created an Imaging Compliance Checklist as a helpful tool that addresses the recently implemented diagnostic imaging standards. Organizations can use it to perform a self-assessment and prepare for on-site surveys. The Joint Commission also offers a brief presentation on known non-compliance issues with TJC standards and requirements for improvement.
TJC Compliance Checklist: Diagnostic Imaging may be downloaded at no cost. (Source: American College of Radiology)
Source: American College of Radiology - July 15, 2016 Category: Radiology Source Type: news
ACR Manual on Contrast Media Addresses FDA Gadolinium Safety Concerns
Reston, VA — The updated ACR Manual on Contrast Media contains a statement addressing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) safety communication on use of gadolinium-based contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Gadolinium-based contrast agents are administered to approximately 30 million patients every year to improve the diagnostic accuracy of MR examinations. Researchers have found that gadolinium-based contrast agents may leave deposits in the brain, bone and other organs. “If the decision is made to use a gadolinium-based contrast agent for an MRI study for an individual patient, multi...
Source: American College of Radiology - July 12, 2016 Category: Radiology Source Type: news
Gain Actionable Quality Improvement Strategies for Radiology Practices
Reston, VA — Radiology practice team members will obtain quality improvement strategies to enhance patient safety and practice quality infrastructure at the American College of Radiology (ACR) Annual Conference on Quality and Safety. The conference, which will be held Sept. 16–17 in Boston, will also encourage greater operational synergy within teams.
“Radiology practices must implement an effective quality infrastructure to provide continuous practice performance improvements, especially with today’s health care transition to value-based imaging care,” said Jonathan Kruskal, MD, PhD, chair o...
Source: American College of Radiology - July 11, 2016 Category: Radiology Source Type: news
