It demonstrates a commitment
to quality care.
The purpose of the Intersocietal
Commission for the Accreditation of Computed Tomography Laboratories
(ICACTL) is to promote appropriate diagnostic quality CT imaging
in the delivery of health care by providing a peer review process
of laboratory accreditation. Through the accreditation process,
computed tomography laboratories voluntarily assess every aspect
of daily operation and its impact on the quality of health care
provided to patients. While completing the accreditation application,
laboratories often identify and correct potential problems,
revising protocols and validating quality assurance programs.
Because accreditation is renewed every three years, a long-term
commitment to quality and self-assessment is developed and maintained.
Laboratories may use ICACTL accreditation as the foundation
to create and achieve realistic quality care goals.
It provides a confidential peer-review.
Designed to serve laboratories as an educational tool, ICACTL
accreditation is made up of two crucial steps. First, laboratories
conduct a detailed self-evaluation using The Standards
and the application. Completion of the application requires
detailed information on all aspects of laboratory operation
as well as the submission of actual case studies for review.
The case studies are crucial in determining the laboratory's
compliance with The Standards, and are the basis for
judgment of the quality of work that laboratories perform. Once
the self-evaluation is completed, the documents and case studies
are reviewed by the ICACTL Board Of Directors. All aspects of
the review are confidential.
It's a recruiting tool.
Accredited laboratories can use their accreditation as a recruiting
tool to attract the best and brightest physicians and technologists.
Talented professionals are eager to join high-quality programs,
and accreditation assures potential employees that a laboratory
is dedicated to achieving the highest standards for patient
care.
It's intersocietal.
The intersocietal approach is the foundation of the accrediting
bodies managed under the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission's
umbrella. The ICACTL is a nonprofit organization established
with the support of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN);
the American Academy of Otolaryngology; the American
Association of Physicists in Medicine; the American College
of Cardiology (ACC); the American Society of Nuclear
Cardiology (ASNC); the American Society of Echocardiography
(ASE); the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and
Interventions (SCAI); the Society for Vascular
Surgery (SVS); the Society for Cardiovascular Computed
Tomography (SCCT); and the Society for Nuclear Medicine
(SNM). Each of the specialties involved in the performance
and interpretation of computed tomography are represented on
the Board of Directors which supervises the constitution, bylaws,
and operational activities of the ICACTL.
It's proven successful.
The ICACTL is managed by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission, along
with the ICAVL, ICAEL, ICANL and ICAMRL, and was created using
the Intersocietal
Commission for the Accreditation of Vascular Laboratories (ICAVL)
as a model. The ICAVL, in its second decade offering accreditation,
has accredited more than 1600 vascular laboratories, and Medicare
reimbursement for vascular laboratories in a majority of states
hinges on either laboratory accreditation or technologist certification.
Following the pattern of the ICAVL's success, similar reimbursement
trends are taking place for the other IAC accreditation programs,
and are anticipated for the new ICACTL program.
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