Due to tremendous growth in cardiovascular imaging and the need for quality assurance in this emerging area of imaging care, the American College of Radiology (ACR) has launched a cardiac MRI accreditation program. The Cardiac MRI Accreditation Program evaluates the qualifications of personnel, the quality control program, MRI safety policies, and image quality specific to cardiac MRI.

"Institutions performing cardiac MRI will now be able to demonstrate their commitment to quality care and patient safety via this added component of the ACR's MRI accreditation program," said A. Joseph Borelli, M.D., chair of the ACR Committee on MRI Accreditation.

ACR accreditation in cardiac MRI requires that the physicians supervising and interpreting the exams meet stringent education and training standards. ACR accreditation also requires that the imaging equipment is surveyed regularly by qualified medical physicists to ensure that it is functioning properly, and that the technologists administering the tests are certified by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT).

"The ACR MRI Cardiac Accreditation program represents a commitment to high quality standards for performance of MR of the heart. The module was developed by a multi-disciplinary group of cardiovascular imagers together with the ACR. Imaging centers accredited in cardiac MR will have demonstrated their dedication to patient care and experience in cardiac MRI," said David A. Bluemke, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the ACR Subcommittee for Cardiac MRI Accreditation.

ACR accreditation is an efficient process of both self-assessment and independent external expert audit, based on ACR guidelines and technical standards, which assesses the qualifications of personnel, policies and procedures, equipment specifications, QA activities, patient safety, and, ultimately, the quality of patient care.

The purpose of accreditation programs is to set quality standards for practices and help them continuously improve the quality of care they provide to their patients. ACR accreditation provides an objective, peer reviewed assessment of facilities through evaluation of personnel qualifications, equipment requirements, quality assurance and quality control procedures, and evaluation of clinical and phantom image quality.

The ACR has a long history of providing accreditation for diagnostic imaging and radiation oncology going back as far as 1963. In 1994, the ACR became the only national accrediting body for mammography accreditation approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Mammography Quality Standards Act. Quality standards for mammography facilities have been credited with saving tens of thousands of women's lives. In addition to mammography, the ACR currently has programs to accredit MRI, CT, nuclear medicine, PET, ultrasound, and radiation oncology, as well as stereotactic breast biopsy and breast ultrasound.

The expanded accreditation section of the ACR Web site (www.acr.org) section features extensive information to help facilities start the accreditation process and answer pertinent questions. The ACR has augmented its staff of certified radiologic technologists to readily guide providers through the accreditation process via the ACR accreditation hotline at (800) 770-0145.

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