The American College of Radiology (ACR) said it supports a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report calling for minimum national standards and oversight for organizations such as ACR that offer accreditation of advanced diagnostic imaging services.
The standards are needed because the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) current oversight of accreditation requirements is limited, GAO said in the May 31 report. "Although CMS is responsible for evaluating the performance of accrediting organizations, the agency has not developed an oversight framework that would enable it to monitor and measure performance," nor has it established specific performance expectations or made plans to audit suppliers as required by law, GAO noted.
The agency recommends that the CMS administrator establish and publish minimum national standards for the accreditation of advanced diagnostic imaging suppliers, as well as develop an oversight framework for evaluating the performance of accrediting organizations, including specific requirements for audits of those organizations and guidance on "immediate-jeopardy deficiencies," GAO said.
"If accreditation is actually going to achieve a national standard of quality and safety for patients, there have to be legitimate, meaningful standards in place," ACR said in a statement. "[The] GAO report is a significant step in the right direction. The ACR looks forward to working with Congress, [Health and Human Services (HHS)], and other stakeholders to put the GAO recommendations into action."
ACR added that it has long maintained stringent standards for medical imaging equipment, supervising and interpreting physicians, and nonphysician personnel as an integral part of providing safe and appropriate care.
