The Reston, VA-based American College of Radiology (ACR) said it intends to launch a modular MRI accreditation program.
The new program is distinct from the ACR's current MRI accreditation program, which focuses on whole-body scanners. The modular program under development will be more tailored toward facilities that have limited practice, or facilities that have multiple MRI scanners that specialize in certain examinations.
The program will officially begin operating in the first half of 2008, and healthcare facilities will have six modules from which to choose in order to match their accreditation to their practice on each magnet. The modules for MR accreditation are MR body, MR head, MR angiography, MR spine, MR musculoskeletal, and MR cardiac.
Breast MR, which is currently under development, is excluded from the new program. The ACR said breast MR is a better fit within the framework of other breast imaging accreditation programs.
Past ACR efforts to accredit orthopedic MRI facilities have drawn fire from critics who say such a program would legitimize orthopedic physicians who self-refer patients to scanners they operate in their own offices. The current musculoskeletal module is different from an orthopedic MRI plan the ACR abandoned in 2004 because the new program will cover all magnet field strengths and types, according to ACR representative Theresa Branham.
"The ACR has always been concerned about self-referral," Branham said to AuntMinnie.com. "However, the primary focus of accreditation is image quality, regardless of the physician providing the interpretation. The cornerstone of all ACR accreditation programs is that imaging is performed by qualified personnel, using the proper equipment that results in a diagnostic quality image."
By AuntMinnie.com staff writers
August 2, 2007
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