March 2, 2015 — New and updated American College of Radiology (ACR) Appropriateness Criteria now help healthcare providers choose the most appropriate medical imaging exam or radiation therapy for more than 1,000 clinical indications. These continually updated criteria are a national standard developed by expert panels of physicians from many different medical specialties.
In the latest version, the ACR updated 19 appropriateness criteria topics and added eight new criteria that include: breast pain, occupational lung diseases and metastatic epidural spinal cord compression and recurrent spinal metastasis.
“ACR Appropriateness Criteria are the most comprehensive evidence-based guidelines available for selection of diagnostic imaging, image-guided interventional procedures and radiation oncology procedures for specific clinical needs,” said E. Kent Yucel, M.D., FACR, chair of the American College of Radiology Committee on Diagnostic Imaging and Interventional Radiology Appropriateness Criteria. “Providers should become familiar with these guidelines and use them in their diagnostic or treatment decision-making.”
ACR Appropriateness Criteria guide physicians when ordering exams and help ensure that patients get the right scan or therapy for the right indication. Use of such criteria in the ordering of imaging exams has been shown to improve quality, reduce unnecessary exams and lower costs.
For more information: www.acr.org
April 24, 2026 
