ACR Appropriateness Criteria Celebrates 25th Anniversary with Release of New Topics

RESTON, Va., April 2, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American College of Radiology (ACR) today released the latest edition of the ACR Appropriateness Criteria®, which includes 178 diagnostic imaging and interventional radiology topics with 912 clinical variants covering more than 1,110 clinical scenarios. 

The ACR Appropriateness Criteria, which celebrates its 25^th anniversary this year, was first introduced in 1993 and provides the most comprehensive evidence based guidelines for diagnostic imaging selection and image guided interventional procedures.

"The ACR's expert panels of radiologists and multispecialty teams are proud to have been creating and continually updating the ACR Appropriateness Criteria for 25 years," said Frank J. Rybicki, MD, PhD, FACR, chair of the ACR Committee on Appropriateness Criteria. "These evidence-based guidelines, recognized across the medical field as a national standard, help ensure that patients get the right care for their conditions and avoid unnecessary care. In addition, under the guidance of the leadership of the Journal of the American College of Radiology, we have formed a Subcommittee on Patient Engagement. This new program will extend the portfolio of the Appropriateness Criteria to directly respond to patient concerns and questions by preparing patient friendly summaries of the AC topics."

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

The new topics in today's release are:

• Breast Imaging of Pregnant and Lactating Women
• Breast Implant Evaluation
• Shoulder Pain – Atraumatic

Recently revised topics include:

• Acute Nonlocalized Abdominal Pain
• Acute Pyelonephritis
• Colorectal Cancer Screening
• Hearing Loss and/or Vertigo
• Hematuria – Child
• Imaging of Mesenteric Ischemia
• Sinusitis – Child
• Staging and Follow-up of Ovarian Cancer
• Suspected Lower Extremity Deep Vein Thrombosis

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 (CMS) as a qualified Provider-Led Entity.

For more information about ACR Appropriateness Criteria, visit the ACR website.

To arrange an interview with any ACR member, contact Meghan Swope at 703-390-9822 or [email protected].

About the American College of Radiology

The American College of Radiology (ACR), founded in 1924, is a professional medical society dedicated to serving patients and society by empowering radiology professionals to advance the practice, science, and professions of radiological care.

SOURCE American College of Radiology