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Clinical Appropriateness Guidelines for Radiology updated as of July 1, 2019

July 1, 2019

As previously communicated in a Partners in Health UpdateSM article, as of July 1, 2019, AIM Specialty Health® (AIM), an independent company, is using updated Clinical Appropriateness Guidelines for Radiology for Independence members.

Independence has contracted with AIM to perform utilization management activities for outpatient non-emergent diagnostic imaging services and certain high-technology radiology services for our managed care members. AIM uses the Clinical Appropriateness Guidelines for Radiology to determine the medical necessity for these services. To view AIM’s current guidelines, go to the Resources section of AIM’s website.

Summary of the changes

As of July 1, 2019, the following changes were implemented to the Clinical Appropriateness Guidelines for Radiology:

  • Head and neck imaging
    • Sinusitis/rhinosinusitis
    • Infectious disease – not otherwise specified
    • Inflammatory conditions – not otherwise specified
    • Trauma
    • Neck mass (including lymphadenopathy)
    • Parathyroid adenoma
    • Temporomandibular joint dysfunction
    • Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak of the skull base
    • Dizziness or vertigo
    • Hearing loss

Policies and guidelines

The following policies were posted as Notifications on April 1, 2019, and are effective as of July 1, 2019. These policies include a list of procedure codes and a link to the radiology guidelines on AIM’s website:

  • Commercial: #09.00.46w: High-Technology Radiology Services
  • Medicare Advantage: #MA09.002i: High-Technology Radiology Services

To access these medical policies, visit our Medical Policy Portal.


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