ASNC Announces QCDR Designation for the ImageGuide Registry

The American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) is pleased to announce that CMS recognized ASNC’s ImageGuide Registry as a Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) for 2015. The designation as a QCDR ensures that participation in the registry allows physicians to meet the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) requirements by submitting data to the registry. “For the participating physicians, the registry will allow tracking of quality data for PQRS reporting and other required quality programs,” says Peter L. Tilkemeier, MD, Chair of the Registry Oversight Committee. “Participation in the ImageGuide Registry will create tremendous value for the facility and the practice of nuclear cardiology.

In 2015, ASNC self-nominated the ImageGuide Registry to become a QCDR. The registry is designed to support nuclear cardiology laboratories, interpreting physicians and technologists. It will ensure and foster continuous quality improvement initiatives in the field of nuclear cardiology. As the first national registry for non-invasive cardiac imaging, the ImageGuide Registry will improve laboratory efficiency, optimize patient radiation exposure, minimize downstream costs, and improve patient care. Participants can measure, benchmark, and improve cardiovascular imaging to achieve quality improvement at the provider and laboratory level, and drive broader adherence to best practices.

By participating in the ImageGuide Registry, ASNC anticipates that laboratories will be able to satisfy Medicare regulatory requirements and those of other third party payers, thereby maximizing reimbursement. Moreover, the registry will enable users to demonstrate adherence to appropriate use criteria, an increasingly important mandate of healthcare policy. The registry will help participants measure, benchmark and improve cardiovascular imaging, drive quality improvement at the provider and laboratory level and assist in the dissemination of best practices.

“The development and implementation of the ImageGuide Registry for myocardial perfusion imaging is truly ground breaking,” says Peter L. Tilkemeier, MD, Chair of the Registry Oversight Committee. “The ImageGuide Registry comprehensively addresses the entire imaging process from indications and appropriateness, type of study performed and radiation dosimetry, to reporting results and compliance with major quality indicators. Release of the registry for clinical use is a sentinel moment in the history of non-invasive cardiac imaging and has been successful only through the collective efforts of many involved in the field of cardiac imaging and registries.”

The ImageGuide Registry reflects ASNC’s commitment to promote the highest quality diagnostic cardiovascular imaging,” says ASNC president, David Wolinsky, MD, “and it will ensure that patients continue to have access to the most appropriate cardiac testing.”