Partnership to Deliver European Society of Radiology Appropriate Use Web Service Guide Across Europe

National Decision Support Company (NDSC; Andover, MA, USA) reported that it has executed an agreement with the European Society of Radiology (ESR; Vienna, Austria) to provide appropriate use criteria to the European market via ESR iGuide.

At European Congress of Radiology (ECR) 2014, the ESR announced a large-scale plan to develop clinical decision support guidelines for the European market. As part of this announcement, the ESR signed an agreement with the American College of Radiology (ACR; Reston, VA, USA) to utilize their experience in developing appropriate use criteria.


Through this new relationship, the ESR will leverage NDSC’s expertise in delivering electronically consumable appropriate use criteria in the United States to deliver the same experience to the European market. ESR experts will adapt ACR Select into imaging referral guidelines customized to the European market. Furthermore, the ESR will utilize NDSC content delivery capabilities to localize the criteria based on regional and institutional requirements, such as the availability of imaging equipment.

NDSC will act as the licensing agent for ESR iGuide across all European countries and be responsible for managing content delivery. “We’re excited about the opportunity to expand our presence into Europe,” said Michael Mardini, CEO, NDSC. “This relationship is directly in line with our strategy to deliver actionable, national standard content and we are pleased to have earned the trust of the ESR.”

This agreement further builds on NDSC’s recent successful rollout of ACR Select at the Hospital Clinic Barcelona (Spain), where appropriate use criteria were translated into Spanish and integrated with the hospital’s electronic health record (EHR). “For over a year we have been testing ACR Select in Spain with positive results,” said Lluis Donoso Bach, PhD, director of the Diagnostic Imaging Center, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona and ESR first vice-president. “The agreement between the ACR and NDSC enables us to develop Europe-wide criteria without reinventing appropriate use criteria and lets us leverage NDSC’s vast experience.”

The official launch of ESR iGuide is planned for the ECR 2015 in Vienna, Austria, March 4–8, 2015. NDSC demonstrated its latest developments at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 2014 annual meeting, which took place November 30-December 5, 2014, in Chicago (IL, USA).

NDSC is the exclusive distributor of US standards clinical decision support (CDS) imaging guidelines. NDSC provides the technical platform, support, and licensing of digitally consumable CDS that continuously educates providers regarding the latest evidence-based approach to medicine without disrupting the doctor-patient relationship or delaying needed care.

ACR Select, provided by National Decision Support Company, is a complete web service version of American College of Radiology (ACR) Appropriateness Criteria (AC). ACR AC is a comprehensive US standards clinical decision support database that provides evidence-based decision support for the appropriate utilization of all medical imaging procedures. More than 300 volunteer physicians, representing more than 20 radiology and non-radiology specialty organizations, participate on the ACR AC expert panels, continuously updating these nationally transparent guidelines, and providing real-time access to the latest medical imaging decision support. The ACR Select platform can be easily integrated with computerized ordering and electronic health record (EHR) systems so healthcare organizations can effortlessly consume ACR AC guidelines and ensure that the right patient gets the right scan for the right indication.

Related Links:
National Decision Support Company
European Society of Radiology 
American College of Radiology