ACR CT Accreditation Program and the Lung Cancer Screening Program Designation.

The ACR recognizes that low-dose CT for lung cancer screening has the potential to significantly reduce mortality from lung cancer in the appropriate high-risk population. The ACR supports the recommendations of the US Preventive Services Task Force and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network for screening patients. To be effective, lung cancer screening should be performed at sites providing high-quality low-dose CT examinations overseen and interpreted by qualified physicians using a structured reporting and management system.

Radiologist Hiring Preferences Based on Practice Needs.

Background: The ACR Commission on Human Resources and Commission on General, Small and Rural Practice collaborated on developing a question regarding hiring preferences to include in the annual Commission on Human Resources Workforce Survey in order to understand hiring preferences.

Methods: Group leads were asked to rank five types of prospective radiologists from most desirable to least desirable for hire on the basis of the needs of their practices: single-specialty radiologists, focusing on only one subspecialty; single-specialty radiologists with general capabilities; multispecialty radiologists; general radiologists; and radiologists who did two fellowships in the same specialty.

Results: The most desired hiring preference was for a single-specialty radiologist with general capabilities.

ACR CT accreditation program and the lung cancer screening program designation.

The ACR recognizes that low-dose CT for lung cancer screening has the potential to significantly reduce mortality from lung cancer in the appropriate high-risk population. The ACR supports the recommendations of the US Preventive Services Task Force and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network for screening patients. To be effective, lung cancer screening should be performed at sites providing high-quality low-dose CT examinations overseen and interpreted by qualified physicians using a structured reporting and management system.

Actionable findings and the role of IT support: report of the ACR Actionable Reporting Work Group.

The ACR formed the Actionable Reporting Work Group to address the potential role of IT in the communication of imaging findings, especially in cases that require nonroutine communication because of the urgency of the findings or their unexpected nature. These findings that require special communication with referring clinicians are classified as "actionable findings." The work group defines 3 categories of actionable findings that require, respectively, communication and clinical decision within minutes (category 1), hours (category 2), or days (category 3).

ACR white paper on teleradiology practice: a report from the Task Force on Teleradiology Practice.

Teleradiology services are now embedded into the workflow of many radiology practices in the United States, driven largely by an expanding corporate model of services. This has brought opportunities and challenges to both providers and recipients of teleradiology services and has heightened the need to create best-practice guidelines for teleradiology to ensure patient primacy. To this end, the ACR Task Force on Teleradiology Practice has created this white paper to update the prior ACR communication on teleradiology and discuss the current and possible future state of teleradiology in the United States.

ACR white paper: the value added that radiologists provide to the health care enterprise.

Radiologists represent arguably one of medicine's least heralded but most important specialties. Although they carry sterling credentials as imaging and radiation safety experts, radiologists have lacked widespread public recognition. As public and private stakeholders cast an even more intense spotlight on imaging, the vital role of radiologists must be better understood.

Beating them or joining them: your radiology group's path to the future.

Radiologists and hospital and health system (HHS) administrators and trustees are facing significant threats and opportunities in the rapidly changing health care environment. Although multiple response alternatives exist for both groups, some of the options seem more likely than others to lead to long-term success. The choices available range from cooperation to competition, from bargaining to blaming, from offering hope to providing criticism, from standing together to standing apart, and from focusing on beating them to investing in joining them for the benefit of all.