- The ACR Bulletin is Now On X
- ACR Education Center Revamps HRCT Course
- ACR Introduces ARCH-AI
- ACR Releases Response to Proposed CMS 2025 MPFS Rule
- ACR Praises CMS Move to Cover Screening CT Colonography for Seniors
- New NPHI Study Demonstrates the Impact on Reimbursement of a Value-Based Payment Model
The Bulletin is Now On X
Make sure you check out and follow the ACR Bulletin’s new page on X (Twitter), @ACRBulletin. Keep up to date on what’s happening around the College and in the world of radiology. If you have any questions about or suggestions for the Bulletin, please email acrbulletin@acr.org.
ACR Education Center Revamps HRCT Course
The ACR Education Center recently revamped its High-Resolution CT (HRCT) of the Chest course to provide better understanding of recent guidelines for Usual Interstitial Pneumonia (UIP) and Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis (HP) diagnosis.
Here is what Gregory M. Kisling, DO, PhD, an ACR member, had to say about the course after taking the soft launch of the course this past spring: “It is only four days since I’ve returned from the ACR courses, and they have immediately started paying dividends. This week I have correctly diagnosed a case of severe chronic aspiration, a textbook case of probable UIP, a great case of asymmetric bronchiectasis, and a classic case of lymphoid interstitial pneumonia — diagnoses that I would have been hard-pressed to see and report clearly before the HRCT course. Additionally, I distributed the primary article from the HRCT course to my colleagues, and two of them have already thanked me for it; it is a great article on working up chronic lung disease and UIP. So, the course is helping more than just me. They were great instructors and superb courses; attending these activities has made a significant improvement in my comfort and speed of dictation, as well as in improving the accuracy of my reports.”
Kisling’s experience highlights the transformative impact of the updated October 2024 HRCT course. Jeffrey P. Kanne, MD, FACR, HRCT course co-director said, “Our goal is to empower clinicians with practical skills that directly translate to improved patient care. The case library and updated lectures, coupled with one-on-one faculty deskside support, provide a dynamic learning experience, enabling accurate diagnoses and informed decision-making.”
Join the ranks of empowered clinicians — register now for the Oct. 16–18, 2024, HRCT course. Registrations will be accepted up to the day of the course.
ACR Launches ARCH-AI
The College has launched the ACR Recognized Center for Healthcare-AI (ARCHAI), which sets the guidelines for AI use within imaging interpretation to ensure all radiology facilities are safely using AI and in an effective manner. This is the first national AI quality assurance program designed for radiology facilities to recognize and stick to best practices for the use of AI in imaging interpretation by outlining expert consensus-based building blocks for the infrastructure, processes and governance in AI being implemented in practices.
Radiology practices that complete the ARCH-AI process will gain an ACR Recognition badge to show in their waiting rooms and lobbies to display to their communities and patients that they are committed to safe and responsible AI integration.
Read more about the ARCH-AI criteria and start the application process.
ACR Releases Response to Proposed CMS 2025 MPFS Rule
CMS proposed its Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) 2025 rule in July, and the ACR has released its response to the regulation. The College recognized that CMS believes the overall impact of the proposed MPFS will be neutral for nuclear medicine, radiation oncology and radiology, with interventional radiology decreasing by 2%.
CMS estimated a 2025 Conversion Factor of $32.36 in the rule, lower than last year by .93¢ ($33.29). However, the ACR was happy with the proposed rule that provides coverage of colorectal cancer screening with CT colonography (CTC).
ACR Praises CMS Move to Cover Screening CT Colonography
On July 10, 2024, CMS proposed coverage of CT colonography (CTC) for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening of Medicare patients in its 2025 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule and its 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule. The ACR heralds this proposal as a big step forward toward providing Medicare patients access to a minimally invasive CRC screening tool that can detect pre-cancerous polyps and does not require anesthesia.
Members of the ACR Colon Cancer Committee met with Dora Hughes, MD, MPH, Acting Chief Medical Officer and Acting Director of the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality and other CMS staff members to discuss CTC and its life-saving benefits. Coverage of CTC has been a goal of the College since 2008 when the ACR published the results of the Imaging Network National CT Colonography Trial. Nonetheless, CMS denied coverage until now despite several reconsideration requests.
New HPI Study Demonstrates the Impact on Reimbursement of a Value-Based Payment Model
A new study conducted by researchers from Mayo Clinic and the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute® (HPI), and published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics, revealed the impact of reimbursement of a value-based payment model known as the Radiation Oncology Case Rate (ROCR). The study estimates that the ROCR program that is patient-centered should produce Medicare savings of up to 3% through 15 types of cancer in comparison to historical Medicare fee-for-service payments.
This model of ROCR emerged as efforts by CMS to enact the Radiation Oncology Alternative Payment Model (RO-APM) stalled, with a primary concern being low reimbursement rates through RO-APM risking economic viability of radiation oncology practices and putting patient access in jeopardy.
Key points of this proposal include annual inflationary updates along with site neutral payments that are based off historical hospital outpatient payments. A benefit of the ROCR is the simplicity relative to the RO-APM, which can allow this adaptation. The results, however, also display increased costs that can reach $7,417 for palliative compared to curative treatment, and potentially up to an additional $3,917 for treatments of cancer in its later stage.
Read the press release. For more information, please contact Nichole Gonzalez, HPI business & media manager.