ACR Updates Appropriateness Criteria

The latest version of the American College of Radiology's guidelines updated 29 appropriateness criteria topics and added 12 new criteria to help health care providers choose the most appropriate medical imaging exam or radiation therapy for a patient’s clinical condition.'' New criteria include Asymptomatic Patient at Risk for Coronary Artery Disease; Acute Hip Pain — Suspected Fracture; Blunt Chest Trama; Thyroid Carcinoma; Early Stage Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer and High Dose Rate Brachytheraphy for Prostate Cancer. Click here to view the complete list.“Choosing the most appropriate radiation therapy strategy is critical to the effective and safe treatment of many cancer patients. Use of ACR Appropriateness Criteria can guide physicians in doing so by providing the latest evidence-based approach for a wide variety of radiotherapy issues, such as the appropriate radiation dose, technique, volume, etc.,” noted Benjamin Movsas, MD, FACR, chair of the ACR Committee on Radiation Oncology Appropriateness Criteria, in a press release. According to the ACR, there currently are 197 ACR Appropriateness Criteria topics with over 900 variants available, making it a very comprehensive set of evidence-based guidelines.