New ACR Guidance Helps Radiologists Enhance Care

The latest edition of the American College of Radiology (ACR) Appropriateness Criteria includes 216 diagnostic imaging and interventional radiology topics with more than 1,030 clinical variants covering 2,400 clinical scenarios.

“ACR appropriateness criteria serve a vital role in helping to ensure that patients receive the necessary, quality care that they expect from their healthcare providers,” said Mark Lockhart, MD, MPH, chair of the ACR Committee on Appropriateness Criteria. “These criteria are recognized as the national standard in radiologic care. The five new topics included in the ACR Appropriateness Criteria, including two related to pediatric care, help further ensure that patients receive the right care, for the right indication, at the right time.”

The ACR Appropriateness Criteria has been providing the most comprehensive evidence-based guidelines for diagnostic imaging selection and image guided interventional procedures since 1993.

This latest update includes five new and eight revised topics. Each topic has a narrative, an evidence table, and a literature search summary.

The new topics in the most recent release are:

• Crohn Disease-Child
• Imaging of Facial Trauma Following Primary Survey
• Imaging of the Axilla
• Newly Diagnosed Palpable Scrotal Abnormality
• Osteomyelitis or Septic Arthritis-Child (Excluding Axial Skeleton)

Recently revised topics are:

• Chronic Chest Pain-High Probability of Coronary Artery Disease
• Dyspnea-Suspected Cardiac Origin (Ischemia Already Excluded)
• Imaging After Shoulder Arthroplasty
• Pelvic Floor Dysfunction in Females
• Post-Treatment Follow-up and Active Surveillance of Clinically Localized Renal Cell Cancer
• Sinonasal Disease
• Staging and Surveillance of Testicular Cancer
• Staging of Colorectal Cancer

Medical providers may consult the ACR Appropriateness Criteria to fulfill Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) requirements that they consult AUC prior to ordering advanced diagnostic imaging for Medicare patients. The ACR is designated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as a qualified Provider-Led Entity.