New Leadership at the College

Last month, the ACR announced Alan H. Matsumoto, MD, FACR, as chair of the BOC, and Christoph Wald, MD, PhD, MBA, FACR, as BOC vice chair at ACR 2024, the College’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C. Pamela K. Woodard, MD, FACR, will serve as president and Catherine J. Everett, MD, MBA, FACR, as vice president. New officers assumed office immediately following the close of ACR 2024 (see the full list here).

Matsumoto most recently served as BOC vice chair. He previously served as chair of the Commission on Interventional and Cardiovascular Imaging and as a member of the ACR CSC. Wald will also continue to serve as chair of the ACR Commission on Informatics. He previously served as a member of the BOC and CSC. 

This year’s annual meeting also honored ACR CEO William T. Thorwarth Jr., MD, FACR, who will retire June 30 after more than 10 years of service. As CEO, Thorwarth guided the College through the COVID-19 pandemic, overseeing the creation and distribution of resources to help members and their practices. In addition, he oversaw the launch of the ACR Data Science Institute^®. The College will welcome Dana H. Smetherman, MD, MPH, MBA, FACR, as its first female CEO effective July 1. Smetherman is chair of the department of radiology and associate medical director for medical specialties at the Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans and a past member of the Ochsner Health System Board of Directors. 

Honoring Radiology’s Best and Brightest

The College recognized 156 members who became ACR Fellows during the April 14 Convocation (see the full list here). These members received this award through service and honors beyond the scope of employment. The Convocation also included recognition of five special awards: Gold Medals to Paul H. Ellenbogen, MD, FACR, FAIUM, FSRU, Geraldine McGinty, MD, MBA, FACR, and Elizabeth A. Patterson, MD, FACR; a posthumous Distinguished Achievement Award to Amanda Crowell Itliong (the first patient ever to receive the award); and an Honorary Fellowship to Hiroshi Onishi, MD, PhD. 

During the annual meeting, the ACR Foundation presented its 2024 Global Humanitarian Award to Boyd N. Hatton, MD, for his positive global impact on radiology services through his work with the Kilimanjaro Mission Hospital (KMH) in Kenya, Africa. Since 2021, Hatton has worked with KMH to improve imaging services. He serves as the director of radiology both on-site and remotely throughout the year and frequently consults on challenging cases from the U.S. He also selected, sourced and negotiated for new ultrasound and digital X-ray units for KMH.

Recognizing Outstanding Contributions in Economics 

William Donovan, MD, MPH, FACR — a neuroradiologist with a special interest in healthcare economics — received the 2024 William T. Thorwarth Jr., MD, Award, an honor recognizing outstanding contributions to the field of health policy and radiology economics. Donovan is a practicing neuroradiologist for Midstate Radiology Associates in Connecticut. He began his career with the AMA/Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC) in 2007 and in 2011 joined the AMA/RUC panel, first as the alternate radiology member and then as radiology member from 2021 to 2024.

Donovan is a member of the ACR Commission on Economics, the Commission on General, Small, Emergency and/or Rural Practice, the Coding and Nomenclature Committee, the Quality Assurance Committee and clinical reviewer for the MRI Accreditation Program. He is past chair of the ACR Neuroradiology, Reimbursement and College Nominating Committees. 

Conducting the Business of the Meeting

During ACR 2024, three prominent resolutions were passed by the ACR Council (a complete list of resolutions passed will be made available on ACR.org soon).

1. To strengthen the ACR’s long-term ability to advocate for its members and their patients, the ACR Council voted to update active national physician member dues by $90 per year starting in 2025. The increase for young physicians and medical physicists will be lower. Despite a significant expansion in member services, the economic impact of the pandemic, rapidly increasing inflation and the resulting rise in the cost of providing important services — including legislative, regulatory and economic advocacy — ACR dues have remained unchanged since 2016.
2. To improve access to radiologic care, the ACR Council voted to reaffirm recognition of the Registered Radiologist Assistant (RRA) as a valuable member of radiologist-led care teams. The RRA supports the goals for optimal access to radiology services for all patients and for alleviating increasing workloads. The College will support member practices with RRAs to practice according to their education, clinical training and certification, to the extent consistent with current and future roles and responsibilities statements, certification requirements, and standards of ethics collaboratively developed with the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists and the American Society of Radiologic Technologists.
3. The ACR Council voted to affirm that abortion is an essential component of reproductive healthcare, joining the broad medical consensus of more than 75 national medical organizations, including the AMA, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association and the American Board of Surgery. The Council also affirmed the value and need for access to abortion as an evidence-based medical care option, as established by nationally accepted standards of care according to nationally recognized professional practice guidelines, and within the full scope of a physician’s training and professional judgment.

Read more Bulletin coverage of ACR 2024, including recaps of the President’s Address, the Moreton Lecture and Economics Forum.