American College of Radiology releases new and updated appropriateness criteria

The American College of Radiology® (ACR®) released an update to its ACR Appropriateness Criteria® (ACR AC), which includes 227 diagnostic imaging and interventional radiology topics with more than 1,080 clinical variants covering 3,000 clinical scenarios. The ACR AC is used to support referring physicians and other providers in making the most appropriate imaging or treatment decisions. The update includes four new and 11 revised topics. All topics include a narrative, evidence table and a literature search summary.

The new topics include:

• Abnormal Liver Function Tests
• Congenital or Acquired Heart Disease
• Dialysis Fistula Malfunction
• Staging and Post-Therapy Assessment of Head and Neck Cancer

Revised topics include:

• Breast Implant Evaluation
• Imaging after Total Hip Arthroplasty
•Imaging After Total Knee Arthroplasty
• Incidentally Detected Indeterminate Pulmonary Nodule
• Left Lower Quadrant Pain
• Lower Extremity Chronic Venous Disease
• Preprocedural Planning for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement
• Pulsatile Abdominal Mass, Suspected Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
• Sudden Onset of Cold, Painful Leg
• Tinnitus
• Acute Onset Flank Pain-Suspicion of Stone Disease (Urolithiasis)

The ACR AC was first introduced in 1993 by expert panels in diagnostic imaging and interventional radiology to help providers make the most appropriate imaging or treatment decisions for specific clinical conditions.

Referring physicians and other providers may consult the ACR AC to fulfill requirements mandated by the Protecting Access to Medicare Act, which requires that they consult appropriate use criteria prior to ordering advanced diagnostic imaging for Medicare patients. The ACR is designated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as a qualified Provider-Led Entity. More information about ACR AC is available on the ACR website.

To speak with an ACR spokesperson, please contact Shawn Farley or Kevin R. Walter at PR@acr.org.