ASTRO Pulls Out of Joint Practice Accreditation with ACR

The Board of Directors of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has decided not to continue in a joint practice accreditation program with the American College of Radiology (ACR) and is no longer affiliated with that program. Citing an inability to come to agreement with the ACR on some major components of a partnership, ASTRO is ending its affiliation with the ACR radiation oncology accreditation program and instead plans on launching its own program. ASTRO anticipates that its accreditation program will be ready sometime in mid 2013. Facilities currently scheduled for an accreditation survey should contact the ACR with questions, ASTRO said in a news article for its members. The organization went on to apologize for “this unexpected course of events and any confusion it causes,” but also said it was excited to create its own program that it says will offer better value to its members by being integrated with its other quality improvement initiatives, including its efforts on Maintenance of Certification and individual physician practice improvement. The ACR for its part stated that while ASTRO may develop its own accreditation program, the ACR's radiation oncology accreditation program remains the field’s “gold standard” and organizations should continue to work with the ACR on accreditation. “The ACR remains committed to helping facilities achieve excellence and looks forward to a great many years of continued service to radiation oncologists nationwide,” said Patrick Conway, MD, chair of the ACR radiation oncology accreditation committee, in the ACR statement.