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In
a June 2000 letter to its physician providers of healthcare,
United Healthcare of Wisconsin announced that it will
require outpatient facilities providing Nuclear Cardiology Services
to be accredited by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation
of Nuclear Medicine Laboratories (ICANL), effective July 1,
2003. United Healthcare described a number of compelling reasons
for requiring accreditation, citing it as "an important
mechanism for setting objective standards of quality."
It specifically requires accreditation by the ICANL, indicating:
"National organizations offer objectivity, making them
less subject to criticism for bias in favor of any group or
individual. The ICANL allows for diversity in professional background
and training."
Sandra
Katanick, Executive Director of the ICANL, in response to the
United Healthcare of Wisconsin policy, stated, "The ICANL
is devoted to providing a mechanism to ascertain that a particular
laboratory meets specific standards that enable quality patient
care. When that process is recognized by others as an important
component of healthcare delivery, it validates our efforts."
To
date, 383 laboratories have ordered the Essentials and Standards
and Application, 84 laboratories have submitted completed applications
for accreditation, 14 application decisions are pending review,
58 laboratories are accredited, and 9 laboratories are delayed
for correction of deficiencies. One laboratory has been denied
accreditation.
Ms.
Katanick commented, "I am pleased to see the positive response
of the nuclear cardiology community to the accreditation process.
The laboratory personnel that I have had the pleasure of speaking
with regarding the process are committed to providing quality
diagnostic testing and undergoing a stringent peer review of
their work. Even though the process can be time-consuming and
arduous, completion of the application and successful acquisition
of ICANL accreditation almost always results in better patient
care."
Reprinted,
in part, with permission of the American Society of Nuclear
Cardiology from Newsletter August 2000: Vol. 7, No. 4.
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