Reston, Va. (Feb. 25, 2015) — New and updated American College of Radiology (ACR) Appropriateness Criteria® now help healthcare providers  choose the most appropriate medical imaging exam or radiation therapy for more than 1000 clinical indications.  These continually updated criteria are a national standard developed by expert panels of physicians from many different medical specialties.
 
In the latest version, the ACR updated 19 appropriateness criteria topics and added eight new criteria that include: breast pain, occupational lung diseases and metastatic epidural spinal cord compression and recurrent spinal metastasis.  A complete list of new criteria is available at: acr.org/AC.
 
“ACR Appropriateness Criteria are the most comprehensive evidence-based guidelines available for selection of diagnostic imaging, image-guided interventional procedures and radiation oncology procedures for specific clinical needs,” said E. Kent Yucel, M.D., FACR, chair of the American College of Radiology Committee on Diagnostic Imaging and Interventional Radiology Appropriateness Criteria. “Providers should become familiar with these guidelines and use them in their diagnostic or treatment decision-making.”
 
ACR Appropriateness Criteria guide physicians when ordering exams and help ensure that patients get the right scan or therapy for the right indication. Use of such criteria in the ordering of imaging exams has been shown to improve quality, reduce unnecessary exams and lower costs.  
 
ACR Appropriateness Criteria provide a tool for more effective clinical decision making to help ensure that imaging is neither over- nor under-utilized. The guidelines are developed by expert panels in diagnostic imaging, interventional radiology and radiation oncology. Each panel includes leaders in radiology and other specialties. Currently, there are 208 topics with 1,014 variants available.
 
ACR Select, provided by National Decision Support Company, is the complete web service version of ACR diagnostic imaging AC. The ACR Select platform can be easily integrated with computerized ordering and electronic health record (EHR) systems so healthcare organizations can effortlessly consume ACR AC guidelines and ensure that the right patient gets the right scan for the right indication. For more information, visit ACRselect.org.
 
For additional information about ACR Appropriateness Criteria, visit acr.org/AC.