ACR's AUC now acceptable for physicians treating Medicare patients

The American College of Radiology (ACR) is now a qualified Provider-Led Entity, according to rules set out by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The ACR will now be able to provide appropriate use criteria for radiologists who are ordering tests or managing treatment for Medicare patients.

Physicians treating Medicare patients must consult appropriate use criteria before ordering tests (in an effort to reduce costs and avoid unnecessary procedures). The ACR said in a statement that radiologists (and other physicians dealing with imaging) can now use the ACR’s appropriate use criteria to fulfill that requirement, with access to 20 years’ worth of national guidelines to refer to when dealing with more than 215 topics and 1,800 clinical indications when treating patients on Medicare. They can access the information through the ACR Select computer program.

The statement also pointed out that referring to the right appropriate use criteria will become important for physicians’ Medicare reimbursements in the near future. Imaging centers will have to check with criteria developed by a qualified Provider-Led Entity to receive CMS payments under the Protecting Access to Medicare Act.