Dear Imaging Center Insider,
For many freestanding centers, obtaining accreditation from the American College of Radiology (ACR) has long been part of business as usual. But the accreditation process is lengthy, expensive, and complex. And for some centers, it can be difficult to keep current.
Time-consuming or not, accreditation could become a necessity for a center's financial solvency if more payors follow the lead of U.S. insurer UnitedHealthcare of Minneapolis, which this year is mandating that all its participating members be ACR-accredited to be reimbursed for CT, CT angiography, MRI, MR angiography, nuclear medicine/cardiology, PET, and echocardiography services that are performed in freestanding outpatient facilities and physician offices.
The original deadline for accreditation was March 1, but many imaging facilities are finding it hard to get ready in time. Find out what UnitedHealthcare is doing in response, and learn more about the program and its ramifications, by clicking here. As an AuntMinnie.com Imaging Center Insider, you have access to the article days before the rest of our members.
As for other Imaging Center Digital Community news, read about a Maryland court's decision to take a stand against self-referral, a controversial Medicare proposal for CT angiography reimbursement, and how your practice can focus on people, not equipment, to improve MDCT capacity.
Got a comment or report to share about any aspect of diagnostic imaging practice, management, administration, regulation, or financing? Please contact me at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you.
