The American College of Radiology (ACR) has released an update to the ACR Appropriateness Criteria, which includes 186 diagnostic imaging and interventional radiology topics with 914 clinical variants covering more than 1,600 clinical scenarios. This update includes seven new and 19 revised topics. Each topic contains a narrative, an evidence table, and a literature search summary. An appendix that includes a strength of evidence assessment for each of the recommendations and additional details about the rating round tabulations is also available for new and revised topics in this release.

“These evidence-based, expert-developed guidelines have long been recognized across the medical field as a national standard,” says Frank J. Rybicki, MD, PhD, FACR, chair of the ACR Committee on Appropriateness Criteria. “As we rapidly approach the beginning of the mandatory consultation of appropriate use criteria under [Protecting Access to Medicare Act] (PAMA), these resources are becoming even more important to the practice of medicine. The college welcomes meaningful comments on all topics as we work together to enhance patient care.”

The new topics in this release are:

  1. Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Follow-up (Without Repair) 
  2. Acute Mental Status Change, Delirium, and New Onset Psychosis 
  3. Nonatherosclerotic Peripheral Arterial Disease 
  4. Scoliosis-Child 
  5. Suspected Appendicitis – Child 
  6. Suspected Spine Trauma – Child 
  7. Thyroid Disease 

Medical providers may consult the ACR Appropriateness Criteria to fulfill PAMA requirements that they consult AUC 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.