The PAMA (Protecting Access to Medicare Act 2014)  law signed by president Obama and passed in April 2014, mandates that physicians consult appropriate use criteria (AUC) before ordering advanced imaging tests. While originally intended for implementation on January 1, 2017, Medicare has postponed the implementation for now, but given the spiraling costs of healthcare, we can be certain that sooner or later providers will need to show that appropriate use criteria are met for advanced imaging … [Read more...]