November 21, 2016 — Medicalis recently announced the creation of the Imaging Learning Network. In partnership with many of the entities that helped shape the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regulation requiring appropriate use criteria (AUC) be applied to advanced imaging services through electronic clinical decision support (CDS), the Imaging Learning Network is designed to help provider organizations meet the requirement and/or become qualified provider led entities (QPLEs).
Taking into account the lessons learned from the outcomes of the Medicare Imaging Demonstration, the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) CDS regulation enables provider organizations to focus their selection of AUCs based upon quality of evidence, giving them an opportunity to maximize the impact of CDS to improve outcomes and minimize interruptions. The CMS/PAMA mandate is focused on eight Priority Clinical Areas, including suspected pulmonary embolus and low back pain.
The Imaging Learning Network is intended to support both Medicalis's current and future decision support customers, helping develop interventions from the referring physician's perspective. The Imaging Learning Network represents over 15,000 providers practicing in California, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Washington, Ohio, Alaska, Montana, Kansas and Texas. Member institutions include leading academic medical centers, large delivery networks and a cancer specialty hospital.
CMS recently confirmed that Jan. 1, 2018, is the deadline for implementation of the CMS/PAMA Mandate.
According to Medicalis, four of the six integrated health systems granted QPLE status by CMS in 2016 are current Medicalis customers, and several others are currently preparing their QPLE applications for submission to CMS in 2017.
The Imaging Learning Network's QPLE members leverage the HMS Library of Evidence scored evidence (which are free and accessible to clinicians worldwide) to create their own certified AUC. Medicalis customers who are not yet prepared to become a QPLE can license certified AUC from Medicalis customers or other QPLEs as laid out by CMS.
Medicalis will demonstrate its entire Enterprise Solutions Platform at the 2016 annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), Nov. 27-Dec. 1 in Chicago. Applications on display will include Imaging Workflow, Referral Management and Decision Support Solutions.
For more information: www.medicalis.com