Aetna U.S. Healthcare is requiring that all provider of MRI become accredited by January, 2001. We think that all payers should look at the quality of what they are buying. Accepting our accreditation programs would be one way of pointing them toward quality care. In addition, some states are beginning to require accreditation of radiology programs. Massachusetts and Arkansas require accreditation of stereotactic breast biopsy, and Rhode Island is putting together a regulation for MRI, Zinninger says.
Accreditation is also a boon to the public, Pentecost points out.
We learned a powerful lesson from our experience with mammography accreditation. The public needs to know that they are being treated at an appropriate site. Practice standards, research and outcomes studies Also on the CVI agenda is development of practice standards. They will range from guidelines for setting up scans to appropriateness standards outlining the conditions under which various imaging modalities should be used. The Task Force on Cardiovascular Imaging will be working with universities, the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association and manufacturers to develop research agendas and funding.