March 16, 2016 — The newly appointed members of the American College of Radiology (ACR) Outreach Committee are focused on building relationships with other stakeholders in healthcare. The new committee, one of four formed under the ACR Commission on Patient- and Family-Centered Care, will develop needed tools to encourage radiology professionals to be the leaders in patient engagement.
“As part of the health care team, radiologists have an opportunity to improve the healthcare experience for patients and families,” said James V. Rawson, M.D., FACR, commission chair. “ACR’s commission is an enabler of patient- and family-centered thinking throughout radiology and healthcare,” he added.
To that end, Outreach Committee members are integrated into activities such as the Radiology Support, Communication and Alignment Network (R-SCAN) and ACR 2016 — The Crossroads of Radiology programming. They are also developing a member toolkit to encourage patient collaboration and inclusion. The new committee also serves as liaison to the college’s subspecialty and operational commissions and other professional societies.
The committee is under the leadership of Rawson (chair), the P.L., J. Luther and Ada Warren Professor and chair of radiology and imaging at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. The committee’s co-chair is Lynn A. Fordham, M.D., associate professor of radiology and division chief of pediatric imaging in the radiology department at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill. Fordham’s areas of research include low-dose imaging techniques, evidence-based pediatric imaging, imaging in pediatric pulmonary disease, and pediatric ultrasound and magnetic resonance (MR) applications and imaging in non-accidental pediatric trauma.
The other Commission on Patient- and Family-Centered Care committees focus on economics, quality experience and informatics. Resources provided by the commission enhance radiologists’ understanding of — and participation in — new practice and payment models and advise on providing more patient- and family-centered care.
Related content will be presented at ACR 2016 — The Crossroads of Radiology, with sessions focusing on:
- Patient-Centered Radiology: Enhancing the Patient Experience Through Compassionate and More Effective Communications
- Radiology Practice Improvement: Advances in Optimizing the Patient Experience
- Maximizing the Patient Experience in Radiology: Interactive Case-Based Discussions
- Strategies in Imaging the Moving Child — Imaging 3.0; and
- What We Can Learn From Our Customers: Perspectives From Three Non-Radiologists (and One Radiologist)
For more information: www.acr.org
March 09, 2026 
