26 Sep ACR to Hold First Imaging Informatics Summit, Dose Monitoring Forum

imagingBiz | Top radiology and policy experts will offer solutions to critical imaging informatics and radiation dose challenges at the First Annual ACR Imaging Informatics Summit and Dose Monitoring Forum, to be held by the American College of Radiology (ACR) on November 3 and November 4 at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C.

“With future Medicare reimbursement tied to “Meaningful Use” of imaging informatics, providers need to be prepared to face this shifting political, economic, and technological environment,” says Keith Dreyer, MD, PhD, co-chair of the ACR IT and Informatics Committee. The event will “bring radiology and informatics together, preparing providers for the challenges and opportunities that imaging informatics presents.”

The Annual Imaging Informatics Summit, slated for November 3, will enable policy-makers, vendors, providers, and consumers to share perspectives on key imaging IT policy issues, glean an understanding of current challenges and options for solutions implementation, and outline the future state necessary for successful adoption and realization of desired outcomes. Attendees will also be able to find “common ground” and reach common expectations within a rapidly evolving technology landscape, and address practice effects and reimbursement issues associated with “Meaningful Use” and other imaging informatics , Dreyer notes.

Meanwhile, the Dose Monitoring Forum on the following day will offer practice leaders, radiologists, and medical physicists a full perspective on how facilities can proactively monitor dose indices, compare themselves to benchmarks, and understand the challenges and limitations of available data. The forum will also cover the identification of protocols that may be improved, the communication of dose information, relative risks, and benefits to patients and referring physicians.

“Dose monitoring tools like the ACR Dose Index Registry make it possible for imaging providers to monitor and lower the radiation dose administered to patients,” states Richard L. Morin, PhD, chair of the ACR Does Index Registry Committee and ACR Safety Committee. “However, it is crucial that all radiology providers and policy makers know how to understand dose data and put it to practical use. The forum offers this opportunity.”

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