Last Updated on Friday, 6 July 2012 12:21 Written by deepwellarchive Friday, 6 July 2012 12:21

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July 6, 2012

The American College of Surgeons Updates Guidelines For Appropriate Exams

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) recently released updated guidelines for radiologists to use evidence-based criteria to select the most appropriate exams based on the patient’s clinical conditions.  This new criteria updates the 39 previous criteria and adds 5 new criteria to include breast cancer screening and mesenteric ischemia imaging.

From and article posted on auntminnie.com “ACR Appropriateness Criteria can help providers identify when they can replace an exam that uses ionizing radiation with one that does not, or even when no imaging exam may be needed at all,” said E. Kent Yucel, MD, FACR, chair of the ACT Committee on Diagnostic Imaging and Interventional Radiology Appropriateness Criteria. “This can reduce patient and population exposure to radiation, and ensure appropriate imaging, without disrupting the doctor-patient relationship or delaying needed care.”

Once again the medical imaging industry has taken steps to enhance overall patient care while simultaneously reducing their patients exposure to radiation.  This is not the first step the industry has taken, over the years hospitals, imaging centers and clinics have implemented programs that encourage more collaboration among medical professionals, medical image sharing and in some cases decision making software, all aimed at reducing exposure to radiation.  Another goal of these programs is to ensure that patients continue to receive and have access to the exams and procedures they need as part of a personal healthcare platform.

These programs oddly enough were conceived and implemented by the imaging industry’s professionals without governmental interference or input. During the same time that the industry was regulating itself, government panels, ACO’s and CMS has attempted to force reimbursement cuts and onerous regulations on the industry. The proposed cuts and regulations could have a major negative impact on how and who receives treatment and the question now is: WHO DO YOU WANT MAKING YOUR HEALTHCARE DECISIONS? YOU AND YOUR PHYSICIAN OR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT? The answer is simple. Who has the better track record, medical professionals or government bureaucrats when it comes to healthcare?

We will bring you more news opinions and research on this and other topics in future posts.

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