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Imaging at a Crossroads: CT scan providers urged to initiate accreditation

by Gretchen Henkel •

The IAC, established in 1989, uses an intersocietal approach, drawing from a range of medical specialties—in addition to radiology—to develop its program standards for a variety of testing modalities.These include CT, echocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging and others. The board of directors responsible for generating the CT standards included AAO-HNS members Dr. Setzen and Arnold Noyek, MD, professor of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the University of Toronto. The ICACTL accreditation program offers a pathway for otolaryngologists who both perform and interpret their scans, providing they meet one of the training and experience pathways as outlined in the standards. For the established practice pathway, for example, the medical director must have a minimum of five years of CT experience, have at least 150 hours of Category 1 CME, have interpreted a minimum of 500 CT examinations, and have radiation safety training. To view other training and experience pathways and additional requirements, download the ICACTL Standards at icactl.org/icactl/main/icactl_standards.htm.

The Joint Commission’s approach, according to Michael Kulczycki, executive director of the Ambulatory Care Accreditation Program, is to accredit the practice instead of simply the imaging technology, with attention to both patient and staff safety. To meet the CMS mandate for ADI accreditation, The Joint Commission has an add-on option to its accreditation process that includes assessment of the equipment and operating personnel.

“We do an on-site survey for every applicant and a re-survey every three years,” Kulczycki said. “Our on-site process is a major part of our accreditation process.” The Joint Commission has been receiving applications from oral and maxillofacial surgeons who use the cone beam technology. For more information, go to jointcommission.org/Imaging or surveymonkey.com/s/DGNFF7M

Unless otolaryngologists are using conventional CT technology, the ICACTL “makes the most sense for the average ENT practitioner,” Dr. Sillers said. “The lion’s share of the CTs otolaryngologists perform are paranasal sinus and temporal bone,” he pointed out.

Accreditation Timelines and Costs

The accreditation process takes approximately nine to 12 weeks with ICACTL, and the average cost for an ENT practice is $2400.

The usual timeline for granting accreditation with the ACR, according to Wilcox, is 90 days from the time phantom images are submitted. The cost is approximately $2500.

Accreditation with The Joint Commission takes three to four months from the application date, and the cost to accredit a single-site imaging center with the ADI option starts at $10,940, depending on total patient volume and number of sites and modalities (with a built-in plan to amortize payments over a three-year period). “Where we think we offer some value is for imaging companies with multiple sites and multiple modalities, where our process can become more cost efficient,” Kulczycki said.