AHRA Organizes First AUC Stakeholder Summit

Baltimore, MD– AHRA: The Association for Medical Imaging Management organized and hosted a multi-stakeholder summit on February 20, 2018 to discuss the development of a coordinated series of recommendations on implementing the statutory requirement in which ordering physicians must consult a Clinical Decision Support Mechanism (CDSM)/Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) as a condition of payment for certain advanced imaging services.

“Shortly after CMS announced in late 2017 that they would not pursue their original implementation plan and would reach out to the stakeholder community for more input, the AHRA Regulatory Affairs Committee contacted CMS about how best to develop new AUC implementation ideas,” said Jay Mazurowski, AHRA Deputy Executive Director. “Rather than continuing to develop ideas in isolation, AHRA felt it might be more productive to bring as many stakeholders together as possible to learn more about their role in this process and what they needed to fulfill their obligations.”

After high ranking CMS officials charged with developing the AUC policy agreed to participate, AHRA brought together stakeholder groups with an interest or authority over how information will be generated by the CDSM, coded and transmitted through the imaging operational system (i.e., ordering professional to imaging department to radiologist), and the placement of the CDSM code on the Medicare claim (both technical and professional). 

Participants included representatives from AHRA, CMS, American College of Radiology (ACR), X12, National Uniform Billing Committee (NUBC), e-Ordering Coalition, as well as vendors specializing in the areas of CDSM, electronic health records, and radiology billing. It is believed to be the first time such stakeholders have been brought together in one place for this type of dialogue.

Sheila M. Sferrella, Chair of the AHRA’s Regulatory Affairs Committee, facilitated this historic gathering and said, “AHRA was pleased to bring this diverse group of stakeholders together for this important conversation.  As we were looking at the various comments submitted in response to the initial CMS proposed AUC guidelines for implementing the AUC policy, it became quite clear that each of the various stakeholders were developing ideas and proposals that met their unique needs, but these often conflicted with the needs of other downstream stakeholders.”

The AHRA Regulatory Affairs Committee would like to thank committee member Penny Olivi, Senior Director at University of Maryland Medical Center and the University of Maryland’s Baltimore Washington Medical Center for hosting this important stakeholder summit. 

For more information on the CMS policy and AHRA’s work on this policy, please contact: Jay Mazurowski, AHRA Deputy Executive Director at: jmazurowski@ahra.org.

About AHRA: The Association for Medical Imaging Management
AHRA is the professional organization representing management at all levels of hospital imaging departments, freestanding imaging centers, and group practices. Founded in 1973, AHRA’s 5000+ members reach across the country and around the world. AHRA offers a complete slate of professional development programs, including a comprehensive selection of educational conferences and seminars, networking opportunities, award winning publications, and the Certified Radiology Administrator (CRA) credential. More details about AHRA are available at www.ahra.org

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AHRA Media Contact:
Brittany Ruggiero
bruggiero@ahra.org
phone: 978-443-7591 x225