Highlights
- •Increasing utilization of imaging for screening and diagnosis has necessitated guidelines and accountability to protect patients and radiology staff
- •Mammography Quality and Safety Act (MQSA) has served as a model for subsequent laws governing the quality and safety of other imaging modalities
- •The American College of Radiology (ACR) provides accreditation in multiple imaging modalities
- •ACR Centers of Excellence program provides accreditation, as well as outcomes and quality data to participating facilities
- •Financial penalties exist for facilities not complying with national quality and safety standards
Abstract
Quality and patient safety are essential to the practice of radiology. “Quality is
our image” is the slogan for the American College of Radiology (ACR), which has embraced
the quality and safety movement as a central tenet. The impact of advances in radiology
on diagnosis and management of complex medical disorders cannot be understated. Nevertheless,
these revolutionary technologies do come at a cost. Increasing utilization of advanced
imaging in emergency departments throughout the country poses challenges both in terms
of appropriate use and management of radiation dose. The indispensable place advanced
imaging plays in diagnosis has necessitated guidelines and accountability to protect
patients and radiology staff.
In this series, we have created a concise discourse on what we have determined to
be the essentials of the economics of quality and safety as it pertains to radiology.
In this first article, we summarize the accreditation programs in radiology, their
legislative background, and the associated financial and market responses that have
subsequently resulted.
We discuss the progression from historical predecessors to the passage of the Mammography
Quality and Safety Act (MQSA), which served as a model for subsequent laws governing
the quality and safety of other imaging modalities. These laws have had real economic
implications for radiology practices seeking to meet new increasingly stringent guidelines.
We also break down the costs of participation in the ACR accreditation and center
of excellence programs.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 05, 2019
Accepted:
September 10,
2019
Received in revised form:
September 2,
2019
Received:
May 27,
2019
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
