Reaccreditation: Raising The Bar [continued]
from
the December 2005 issue
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Accreditation Agreement
A
substantial number of applicant laboratories experience a delay
in receipt of their accreditation decisions rendered by the
Board of Directors due to problems with the Accreditation
Agreement. The Accreditation Agreement is a legal contract
between the applicant laboratory and the ICAEL, and a new Agreement
must be completed and sent at the time of every application
submission.
- The
most current Accreditation Agreement and Business Associate
Agreement can be completed and printed from the ICAEL website
at www.intersocietal.org/icael/apply/agreements.htm.
When completing these documents, be certain to answer all
questions as they pertain to your laboratory and to obtain
the appropriate signatures. The original document must be
sent to the ICAEL and after final review of the text, the
ICAEL will return a copy to the laboratory. As well, be aware
that any changes to the content of the Agreement must have
prior approval by the ICAEL.
Application Data
As
part of the complete application that is prepared for submission
to the ICAEL, your application data must be included. The application
data is required in order for the ICAEL to proceed with the
application process.
- Your
application data may be sent either via the internet or via
diskette. The ICAEL prefers internet submissions, but if you
are unable to send your data via the internet from your computer,
you may create a data diskette and mail it to the ICAEL with
your accreditation material. (Instructions for creating the
disk can be located by clicking the icon located on the main
menu of the application.)
General Application Requirements
Often
at the time of reaccreditation, the application completers assume
that information previously submitted to the ICAEL need not
be sent again. However, due to the volume of paperwork received
by the ICAEL, previously submitted applications are stored offsite
in a secured location and not available to the application reviewers.
- Submission
of two printed copies of the application documents, the required
attachments and the case studies, are required.
- Organize
the application information into two sets. Do not place the
information into binders or page protectors.
- Review
the case study requirements. The most current requirements
can be found on the ICAEL website at www.intersocietal.org/icael/news/articles/casestudiescount.htm.
- Submit
all protocols, diagnostic criteria, quality assurance statistics
and quality assurance documents with the testing applications
at the time of every reaccreditation application submission.
Organization Application
Approximately
55% of reaccreditation delays are a result of problems in the
Organization Application.
- All
staff data must be updated at the time of reaccreditation.
- The
Continuing Medical Education (CME) requirements must be documented
for all staff members. The Medical Director should
document at least 30 hours of AMA Category I CME credits of
continuing education that is related to echocardiography over
a period of three (3) years (the number is 15 or more for
medical staff members). All of the continuing education hours
must be Category I AMA and must be echocardiography-related.
In-house departmental correlation conferences must not be
counted as ongoing CME but rather as part of the laboratory's
ongoing quality assurance program. The Technical Director
should document at least 30 hours of echocardiography-related
continuing education over a period of three (3) years (the
number is 15 or more for technical staff members). All hours
must be echocardiography-related. Up to half of the continuing
education hours may be obtained by attending department conferences.
[Technical Directors please note: Effective 1/1/2007, all
Technical Directors must be registered in Adult Echocardiography
or Pediatric Echocardiography by either ARDMS or CCI.] The
CME requirements can be reviewed in the Organization Standards
or on the website at www.intersocietal.org/icael/community/cmerequirements.htm.
- To
assist laboratory staff members with meeting this requirement,
a CME Opportunities section of the website includes an up-to-date
listing of upcoming courses and conferences, as well as self-study
and recurring courses, and can be found at www.intersocietal.org/icael/community/cme.htm.
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