CMMI Gives Altarum $8.4M to Limit Unnecessary Imaging

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) awarded $8.4 million to the Alarum Institute, a consulting group headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI, to help limit unnecessary medical imaging in Southeast Michigan. In partnership with the United Physicians network and the Detroit Medical Center Physician Hospital Organization, Alarum says it will drive wider adoption of ACR appropriateness criteria (updated last week), educate patients about when a study might be unnecessary, and work to educate referring physicians about when a patient’s history might be sufficient to preclude additional imaging studies. “The three-year project will embed clinical guidelines in the image ordering process, leverage health information exchange capabilities to increase awareness of past imaging results and use patient education campaigns to offset patient-induced demand for medically unnecessary imaging,” according to an Altarum press release.