MEDICARE APPROPRIATE USE CRITERIA

New Physician Ordering Requirements

The purpose of the Clinical Decision Support/Appropriate Utilization Criteria (CDS/AUC) program is to guide you in ordering the most appropriate imaging test for your patient.

Under this program, at the time a practitioner orders an advanced diagnostic imaging service for a Traditional Medicare beneficiary, he/she, or clinical staff acting under his/her direction, will be required to consult a qualified Clinical Decision Support Mechanism (CDSM). This includes studies using:

• Computed Tomography (CT)
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
• Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and
• Nuclear Medicine (NM)

We are currently in the ‘CMS education and operations test period’, during which we are setting up the necessary computer systems so we can go-live when AUC/CDS is implemented starting on January 1, 2023 or when decided by CMS.

If your EMR does not currently offer a Clinical Decision Support (CDS) option, University Radiology has a solution for you. For more information, please select the CDS Contact Form on the right side and one of our team members will be able to answer your questions and/or assist you with your enrollment in our Physician Portal.

Additional information is available on the CMS website:
https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/Appropriate-Use-Criteria-Program