Reston, Va. (June 5, 2014) – Harvey L. Neiman, MD, FACR, chief executive officer of the American College of Radiology (ACR), died tonight following a long illness. He was 71. Neiman was widely considered a medical visionary who dedicated his professional life to improving patient care.
 
“ACR members and staff, the radiology community, and organized medicine have lost a dear friend and colleague, exceptional leader, mentor and luminary,” said Bibb Allen, MD, FACR, chair of the American College of Radiology Board of Chancellors.
 
Under Neiman’s leadership, the ACR rose to be one of the world’s largest and most influential medical specialty societies, taking historic steps to promote health care quality, safety and efficiency.  He spearheaded ACR co-founding of the Image Wisely® and Image Gently® initiatives to raise awareness of opportunities to lower radiation dose used in medical imaging. Neiman guided the development of the Dose Index Registry® which helps imaging practices track, optimize and benchmark radiation dose used in patient scans. During his tenure, ACR successfully educated Congress to require accreditation of freestanding advanced diagnostic imaging facilities, improving the quality and safety of imaging care nationwide.
 
Neiman envisioned and helped create the ACR Education Center to train physicians in advanced medical imaging and image-guided techniques. He was also intimately involved with the creation and implementation of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR®) and the Annual ACR forum. Upon closing of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, which housed a world-renowned radiologic pathology correlation course offered by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Neiman spearheaded creation of the American Institute for Radiologic Pathology (AIRP®). This preserved nearly a century of knowledge and enabled current and future radiology residents to continue to receive a vital part of their medical training. Most recently, Neiman’s direction was integral to the formation of the Radiology Leadership Institute® (RLI), which provides radiologists with business and leadership training to help make them better administrators and leaders in the changing health care environment.
 
“Dr. Neiman was a visionary. The initiatives undertaken by ACR during his time as CEO undoubtedly enabled dramatic improvements in patient care,” said James A. Brink, MD, FACR, vice chair of the American College of Radiology Board of Chancellors.    
 
Neiman received the Gold Medal award from both the ACR and the Radiological Society of North America, as well as the Distinguished Service Award from the Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound, which he helped found and served as a president. Neiman recently received the prestigious Béclère Medal, the highest honor awarded by the International Society of Radiology. He also was awarded the first RLI Leadership Luminary Award.
 
William T. Thorwarth, Jr, MD, FACR, recently succeeded Neiman as ACR chief executive officer.