ACR urges Trump administration to exempt VA teleradiologists from return-to-office mandate
The American College of Radiology is urging the Trump administration to exempt members of the specialty from federal return-to-office mandates.
ACR’s concern stems from the Department of Veterans Affairs National Teleradiology Program, or NTP. Launched in 2007, the program employs over 200 rads according to one recent estimate, interpreting 1.5 million exams annually across 130 VA facilities.
President Donald Trump issued a memo in January, ordering department heads to take necessary steps to terminate telework arrangements. However, the college believes the VA must carve out an exemption for radiologists to avoid interrupting access to care.
“Without an appropriate exception for radiologists providing care under the NTP, veterans will face longer wait-times for imaging results, delays in diagnosis and treatment, and lower quality of care, all of which will lead to worse outcomes and an overall decline in veterans’ health,” CEO Dana H. Smetherman, MD, MPH, MBA, wrote to the VA secretary on March 31.
ACR believes forcing remote rads back into offices will lead to long delays across VA sites. Smetherman also noted that in-person work restrictions will likely increase workloads for on-site rads. This will only foster “further delays in timely study interpretations, burnout and higher turnover rates.”
“We respectfully ask that you minimize any disruptions to the NTP and the expeditious, timely care it enables veterans to receive,” she added.
The VA plays a “critical role” in training physicians, Smetherman wrote. Forcing remote radiologists back into offices could potentially have a “significant negative impact on these vital training programs.” Dismantling the NTP would likely result in fewer rads to supervise trainees, less time for teaching, and an overall lower quality educational experience.
“Disruptions to the NTP will impact the efficiency of imaging services and have profound long-term consequences on both patient outcomes and medical staff retention,” Smetherman wrote. “Therefore, we respectfully urge you to take corrective action to ensure continued access to care for veteran patients.”
ACR also highlighted its concerns in a news update published on April 3.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.