Free Online Portal Helps Minnesota Providers Improve Medical Imaging Care and Reduce Costs

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May 13, 2015, 11:22 ET

SAINT PAUL, Minn., May 13, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Minnesota health care providers can now access a free online tool to help ensure patients get the right imaging exam for their condition, reduce unwarranted scans and lower costs.

The ACR Select™ portal is offered by the Minnesota Radiological Society and the National Decision Support Company (NDSC). Its use meets state insurer preauthorization requirements without delaying care. Those with a valid national provider identifier (NPI) can register for access at priorauth.org.

"We deliver tools to help providers ensure that their patients receive the best, most appropriate care," said Kevin Smith, MD, Minnesota Radiological Society president. "Radiologists focus on delivering value to the providers we work with. ACR Select delivers this value and shows the benefits of clinical decision support versus an onerous prior authorization process."

"Many health systems in the state have integrated ACR Select into their electronic health record (EHR). This offers providers native access to CDS at the point of order. Free access to the ACR Select portal ensures that every provider ordering high-tech imaging can participate in the prior authorization exemption and access national Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) to determine the best test for the patient's condition," said NDSC chief executive officer Michael Mardini.

Minnesota pioneered use of clinical decision support as a cost-effective, provider and patient friendly prior authorization alternative through the ground-breaking work of the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI). An ICSI study started in 2006 showed that CDS use in imaging ordering reduced the annual imaging growth rate from 7 percent to 1 percent — saving the state an estimated $234 million. Many payers now accept CDS use in lieu of radiology benefits managers.

"For over 20 years, the American College of Radiology, with several hundred physician experts, from more than 20 radiology and non-radiology specialty organizations, has developed and updated ACR Appropriateness Criteria^® based on strong literature evidence basis. This ACR Select portal improves care and can remove tremendous cost and overhead due to the cumbersome prior authorization process," said William Thorwarth, MD, American College of Radiology chief executive officer.

The ACR Select portal enables full interactive access to the ACR Appropriateness Criteria^® and allows Minnesota providers to generate and share a unique Decision Support Number (DSN). This verifies their consultation and enables collaboration between the radiologist and ordering provider.

"We fully expect to expand this model into other states, especially in light of the Protecting Access of Medicare Act of 2014 requirement to use CDS for advanced imaging claims paid by Medicare starting in 2017," said Mardini.

About ACR Select
ACR Select™, National Decision Support Company's (NDSC) foundational solution, was launched in 2012 under collaboration with the American College of Radiology (ACR) to deliver a complete web service version of ACR Appropriateness Criteria® (AC). ACR AC is a comprehensive national standards clinical decision support database that provides evidence-based decision support for the appropriate utilization of all medical imaging procedures. More than 300 volunteer physicians, representing more than 20 radiology and non-radiology specialty organizations, participate on the ACR AC expert panels, continuously updating these nationally transparent guidelines, and providing real-time access to the latest medical imaging decision support. NDSC delivers ACR Select through computerized ordering and electronic health record (EHR) systems so healthcare organizations can effortlessly consume Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) and ensure that the right patient gets the right scan for the right indication. For more information, visit ACRselect.org.

About the American College of Radiology
The American College of Radiology, 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.

About the Minnesota Radiological Society (MRS)
The Minnesota Radiological Society (MRS) is a state chapter of the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the professional organization representing radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists, and nuclear medicine physicians in the state of Minnesota. With more than 500 active members, the MRS serves to strengthen the practice of radiology by advocating for pro-radiology legislation, providing high-quality Continuing Medical Education (CME) at its biannual meetings, and providing its members with essential economics information in a rapidly changing healthcare environment.

About National Decision Support Company
National Decision Support Company (NDSC) provides integrated solutions for developing, maintaining, accessing, delivering, and analyzing actionable, standards-based Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) for imaging, lab, and care pathways. The company partners with healthcare provider organizations and national medical societies—including American College of Radiology (ACR), American College of Cardiology (ACC), and European Society of Radiology (ESR)—to structure content and deliver it through physician-centric workflows. NDSC's clinical solution set provides physicians access to the latest evidence-based approaches to medicine, allows providers to develop and deliver local care pathways and protocols, and lets healthcare organizations continuously analyze the impact that AUC has on care delivery without disrupting the doctor-patient relationship. For more information, visit NationalDecisionSupport.com.

SOURCE American College of Radiology