While it’s still too early to say that the ACR’s Appropriateness Criteria can decrease the growth rate in imaging utilization, the ACR is doing its best to spread the word.

The American College of Radiology’s Appropriateness Criteria (AC) were created in 1992, yet it has been only in the last 5 years that physicians and health care stake holders have begun to find more ways to incorporate them into technology and quality measures. Today, referring physicians can find the AC incorporated into preauthorizations from radiology benefit management (RBM) companies, licensed decision support software, and, most recently, a new application for mobile phones. And yet, much work remains to not only continue to update the AC, but also encourage referring physicians to use them.

Continued on Imaging Economics