ACR Accreditation

What does it mean and why it matters

Medical imaging is a vital part of our healthcare system. From identifying and diagnosing illnesses to monitoring existing conditions, radiological care, and treatment diagnostics is key to providing insight to a physician or medical team. Medical imaging is also an essential tool for providing and improving patient care; the idea that to advance the medical imaging field is also to embrace a continuing educational practice that promotes continuity, high standards, and quality medical imaging.

What does an ACR accreditation mean?

The American College of Radiology (ACR) is a nonprofit medical organization devoted to the fields of radiology, oncology, and nuclear medicine. The American College of Radiology (ACR) was created to provide diagnostic services the ability to become accredited to create consistency in medical imaging through a set of rigorous standards and improve the overall quality of patient care. In fact, the organization is said to be the “gold standard in medical imaging” and represents nearly 40,000 medical professions in the radiology field. The American College of Radiology relies on the advice and expertise of more than 200 scientists and medical professionals to provide evidence-based guidelines for the appropriate use of imaging technology and treatment options.

What is the goal of the ACR accreditation?

The ACR’s ultimate goal is to develop an accreditation program that is educational in nature, focuses on the primary factors that impact quality clinical images and patient care, and to set standards to help facilities improve and grow as the medical imaging field advances.

The ACR is a quality improvement organization that establishes and comprehensively evaluates through a review process based on rigorous accreditation standards such as:

• Quality assurance and control
• Conformity to a high level of standards and best practices
• Imaging quality and performance

Essentially, an ACR accreditation is used to establish quality standards for imaging, to determine if the facility or product (i.e.-phantom) meets all set requirements, and to gain recognition for high-quality imaging products.

How does the ACR process work?

The ACR accreditation process is both an educational and self-assessment journey that begins with the proper documentation to showcase that the facility meets the accreditation requirements and quality assurance standards. The peer-review process is developed and monitored by experts and follows a specific set of parameters for each imaging modality. The ACR application, testing materials, and image review are all designed to evaluate equipment performance and establish/maintain a quality control program.

Why does an ACR accreditation matter?

An ACR accreditation is not automatic but rather a voluntary process that is transparent in nature. It is a rigorous measurement tool (organization) to show that a facility has undergone quality and safety standards to ensure they are providing quality care and medical imaging. An ACR accreditation is the confidence that a facility/product will work as intended and help with diagnostics and treatment.

DSC and ACR accreditation

We strive to produce products that meet and exceed the requirements put forth by the ACR. At DSC, our phantoms are chosen by the ACR to be used by facilities seeking to get and maintain their own accreditation. Essentially, our phantoms are the standard by which all accreditation of Nuclear and Molecular Imaging systems are evaluated by the American College of Radiology.
As the supplier, we have also gone through a vetting process and are dedicated to making sure that our company is taking the necessary steps to protect and preserve the future of radiology and ensure that we are establishing quality radiology products nationwide.

Our ACR accredited products

Want to take a look at some of our ACR products? Check out our Products Page

Want to read more about phantoms and DSC?

Take a look at the following blogs to learn more about phantoms and what we are doing at DSC.

• What is a phantom? How does it work?
• What is a NEMA Standard?

Contact us

If you would like to learn more about our products or want to talk with someone about our ACR accreditation, feel free to call us at (919) 732-6800 or submit an inquiry at spect.com/contact-us.