Following Monday’s announcement that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) would continue to require hospitals to follow manufacturer recommendations for servicing imaging equipment, the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA) has released a statement of support. The issue has been contentious for the imaging community, which rallied to defend the existing standards after receiving word that CMS was considering relaxing its policy.
“MITA commends CMS for taking an important step to protect public health by requiring that manufacturer’s recommended maintenance standards are used to maintain medical imaging and RT equipment in hospitals,” said Gail Rodriguez, executive director of MITA. “We also thank Reps. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.), Chris Gibson (R-NY), Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) and Keith Rothfus (R-Pa.) for supporting these vigorous standards. This mandate will ensure that equipment functions safely and performs at the highest level of quality so patients can depend on these critical, life-saving technologies.”
Several industry organizations contacted CMS along with MITA to express concern over the proposed update, including the American Society of Neuroimaging (ASN), the American College of Radiology (ACR), the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT), and the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (SDMS). The revised guidelines, which allow hospitals to set their own maintenance parameters for non-imaging equipment, will take effect in 30 days.
