ACR joins Choosing Wisely campaign

The American College of Radiology (ACR) said it has joined the ABIM Foundation and eight other medical specialty societies in Choosing Wisely, a new campaign to promote wise choices by physician and patients.

The campaign aims to improve health outcomes, avoid unnecessary interventions, and support efficient use of healthcare dollars, according to ACR. For its part, ACR will develop a list of five steps to reduce unnecessary imaging exams ordered by physicians and improve quality of care.

This list will name imaging exams that should be discussed in terms of necessity before they are ordered, and it will also equip providers with steps to ensure safe and appropriate use of scans, according to the organization.

In other ACR news, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the ACR to accredit the Planmed Nuance and Nuance Excel full-field digital mammography (FFDM) systems, effective December 27. The ACR will begin contacting facilities that already use Planmed systems under an FDA-approved extended Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA) certificate to advise them of the change and how to proceed with accreditation.