The primary responsibilities of R.T. Advocacy is to inform the Medical Imaging community of state and national legislative issues in the region, to gather and disseminate information to and from the affiliates in the region and the Committee on R.T. Advocacy.
Currently the MSRT has shown its support of a bill that will impact Radiologist Assistants nationwide:
Recently the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released its proposed physician fee schedule for 2019. Included in this proposal is a new regulation that would allow radiologist assistants to practice with reduced radiologist supervision requirements, ultimately improving patient care and making radiologic procedures more efficient. Under the new proposal, RAs, who are advanced-level radiographers who can perform radiologic assessments and certain procedures traditionally performed by radiologists would perform diagnostic procedures under "direct" supervision. This means a radiologist does not need to be present in the room while the procedure is taking place however the radiologist must be in the facility and immediately available to provide assistance.
The proposal gives RAs the ability to practice with fewer restrictions so radiologists can focus on interpreting urgent cases and performing procedures that are more complex. The proposed regulations will allow Medicare to reimburse radiology practices for procedures performed by registered radiologist assistants and radiology practitioner assistants working at a reduced supervision level. Medicare currently requires many services performed by RAs to be performed at the same "personal supervision" level that all radiologic technologists must follow, even though RAs have completed graduate-level education, a radiologist-directed clinical preceptorship and additional certification. The proposal would allow Medicare to follow the supervision levels specified in state RA licensure laws and standards, the majority of which require radiologist supervision at the direct level.
