government
3 groups to accredit imaging services
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Feb. 8, 2010
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Jan. 28 that it is designating three national accreditation organizations -- the American College of Radiology, the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission and the Joint Commission -- to accredit physicians and others who use advanced diagnostic imaging.
The accreditation requirement will not apply to physicians' interpretation of the images, just to medical professionals who actually provide the scans. As required by the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008, all suppliers need to become accredited by Jan. 1, 2012.
The federal law defines advanced diagnostic imaging procedures to include magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography and nuclear medicine imaging. CMS said it will issue further guidance to suppliers about meeting the requirements of the law by the accreditation deadline.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/02/08/gvbf0208.htm.
