ACR Accreditation Notifications and Announcements

Declaration of Material Change MRI Phantom

Due to inability to obtain previously used material, JM Specialty Parts, the designated ACR MR phantom vendor, has begun using a different material for the Slice 5 insert. Although the insert design and material have changed, there is no impact on the current scanning requirements. The MR physics subcommittee tested and approved the material. It will be used in the manufacture of all new phantoms. If you possess a phantom with the old slice 5 insert, it is acceptable to use.

New and Improved Accreditation System

The ACR Accreditation team has unveiled an updated accreditation database called ACRedit Plus with a user-friendly interface and enhanced features. ACRedit Plus is available for all modalities (except radiation oncology) and includes several new features.

• Dashboard: A user-friendly dashboard allows you to see all modalities up for renewal as well as pending activities for your accreditation process. In addition, the menu navigates you straight to the task you need to accomplish.

• Mammography: Facilities with digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) units will no longer have to apply as two separate units for Full-Field Digital and DBT. Instead, these units will apply as a single unit with modules. Facilities under this scenario will see an FDA-approved fee decrease over the current model as well as benefit from the more streamlined process.

• Breast MRI: The Breast MRI Accreditation Program will become a module under the MRI Accreditation Program. Facilities that are currently accredited for Breast MRI will apply under the MRI Accreditation Program at the time of renewal. This will result in lower fees as well as the benefit of the more streamlined process.

• Nuclear Medicine and PET: Participants in our Nuclear Medicine and PET Accreditation program will see a change in the structure of their invoices. Currently, the invoice reflects a facility fee along with separate module-based fees per unit. In the new system, the facility fee will become part of the first unit fee and will not be displayed as a separate facility fee line item.  In addition, both the Nuclear Medicine and PET programs will have updated exam choices and submission requirements.
  
  
• Ultrasound: The Ultrasound Accreditation program will have updated exam choices and submission requirements.

• CT: The CT Accreditation program will allow for Dual Energy/Dual Source phantom submission.

• MRI: The MRI Accreditation program will accept medium phantom submission. The 18 month grace period for facilities to submit with medium phantom images will begin, if applicable.

• Prostate Cancer Designation: A new ACR Prostate Cancer MRI Center Designation will be available to distinguish your site as a provider of safe, effective diagnostic care for prostate cancer patients.

• Lung Cancer Screening Designation: An improved and streamlined application process for the ACR Lung Cancer Screening Center Designation will be available for both new and renewing applicants.

As part of the ACR’s ongoing commitment to enhancing our systems and protecting accreditation data, the new system also institutes a single sign-on (SSO) technology. The login enhancement, called ACR Login, employs technology from SSO market leader Okta that enables users to enter their login credentials one time on a single page to access all their ACR Login applications.

Certain ACR Login applications, such as ACRedit Plus, will require Multifactor Authentication (MFA). MFA necessitates users entering an additional piece of information when logging in for enhanced data security, making it harder for user accounts to become compromised. Existing accredited facilities were contacted with additional information about the ACR login functionality already.