CHICAGOWhile appropriate use criteria are key to curbing radiation exposure and ensuring beneficial CT exams, clinicians have not yet embraced them. Despite the lukewarm acceptance of appropriateness criteria, James A. Brink, MD, chair of radiology at Yale University Medical Center in New Haven, Conn., upped the ante and called for development of multidisciplinary diagnostic algorithms to standardize image utilization during a session on Nov. 27 at the 97th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

Donald M. Berwick, MD, is resigning as Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), effective Dec. 2.

CHICAGO--In the American College of Radiology booth (4623) at the 97th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, the college is providing iPads where imaging stakeholders can tell their Member of Congress to cosponsor H.R. 3269, the Diagnostic Imaging Services Protection Act. RSNA attendees can enter their zip code and either thank their congressman for their support or tell them to get on board with H.R. 3269 with a click of a button.

An analysis of Medicare data released by the Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance (MITA) found that Medicare spending on medical imaging continues to decline and that Medicare patients are receiving fewer imaging procedures.

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has released details of its accountable care organization (ACO) accreditation program that will launch Nov. 21.

As Congress deficit super committee approaches the Nov. 23 deadline to submit its plan to tackle the debt, debates over revenue increases and spending cuts are raging in Washington. Unless tax increases account for a large portion of the deficit reduction plan, Congress will be forced to slash Medicaid and Medicare, according to an editorial published in the Nov. 3 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

SAN ANTONIORepresentatives from two facilities discussed the magnitude of ICD-10 implementation during an Oct. 27 town meeting session at CHIME11, the Fall CIO Forum.

Reps. Pete Olson (R-Texas) and Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) introduced H.R. 3269 in the U.S. House of Representatives on Oct. 27. Co-sponsored by 31 House Members, the Diagnostic Imaging Services Protection Act would prohibit any multiple procedure payment reduction to the professional component of CT, MRI and ultrasound exams received by the same patient, on the same day, in the same setting in 2012.