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Upon an application's arrival at the ICAEL office, it is unpacked
and organized in color-coded folders. The application disk is
removed from the materials, and an ICAEL staff member imports
the information on disk into the ICAEL database. The application
is then assigned an identification number and filed in a holding
area.
Once the application is placed in the holding file, it is ready to
undergo an in-house review of the organization application and
a general review of the remaining application sections to assess
the completeness and appropriateness of the materials submitted.
This is not a review of the technical components of the application.
If obvious information has not been included in the application
(e.g., CME information is incomplete or an inappropriate number
of case studies is submitted), the ICAEL staff contacts the
laboratory to request needed information. It is advantageous
to the laboratory to send this information as soon as possible,
so that it can be included with the application before it is
sent to the Application Reviewers. This in-house review of information
does not ensure that the Board Of Directors will not request
more information, but it does assist in avoiding some unnecessary
delays to a laboratory's accreditation.
Beginning May 1, 2009, laboratories may submit ICAEL applications at any time. In the past, ICAEL laboratories were required to submit applications by February, May, August and November to meet the quarterly deadline. Now in order to be processed within the upcoming month, applicant labs must submit by the first of the month and case studies must be received in the ICAEL office no later than the 5th of the month. At this stage, the ICAEL staff tabulates the number of applications
to be reviewed. A staff member contacts the ICAEL Application
Reviewers and applications are assigned according to each reviewer's
availability and expertise. All Application Reviewers are employed
in accredited laboratories, are credentialed and have attended
an invitational training workshop with the ICAEL. Reviewers
include physicians and sonographers.
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