ACR Appropriateness Criteria for Radiology Revised and Newly updated!

ACR Appropriateness Criteria® Revised and Content Added for 2010

Reston, Va. — July 6, 2010 — The American College of Radiology (ACR) updated more than 30 criteria, added an additional five topics, and revised relative radiation level categories for diagnostic imaging exams in the latest version of the ACR Appropriateness Criteria® — evidence-based guidelines to help health care providers choose the most appropriate medical imaging exam for a patient’s given clinical condition.

The five new topics include:


· Treatment of Uterine Leiomyomas (Interventional Radiology panel)
· Treatment of Lower-Extremity Venous Insufficiency (Interventional Radiology panel)
· Cranial Neuropathy (Neurologic Imaging panel)
· Local-Regional Therapy for Resectable Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinomas (Radiation Oncology – Head and Neck panel) and
· Retreatment of Recurrent Head and Neck Cancer after Prior Definitive Radiation (Radiation Oncology – Head and Neck panel).

This 2010 release is the most collaborative Appropriateness Criteria to date, bringing together 300 expert panelists, including 75 representatives from 20 medical societies. This new release addresses more than 170 clinical topics and more than 800 variants. The Appropriateness Criteria include topics from expert panels in breast, cardiac, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, neurologic, thoracic, urologic, pediatric, vascular, and women’s imaging, as well as interventional radiology and radiation oncology.

In April 2010, the ACR announced the latest version of the Appropriateness Criteria Anytime, Anywhere™ application, powered by Skyscape®, for mobile devices. The application enables access to all of the topics by downloading the ACR Appropriateness Criteria® to nearly any smart phone or other mobile device for a subscription fee.

For more information about the ACR Appropriateness Criteria®, including the new Anytime, Anywhere™ application, visit www.acr.org/ac.

For more information or to interview an ACR spokesperson, please contact ACR Director of Public Affairs Shawn Farley at 703-648-8936 or sfarley@acr-arrs.org.