The Results Are In!
Findings From The ICAEL Survey

In December 2004, the ICAEL invited 5,228 echocardiography laboratories to provide their thoughts on proposed services, the quality of accreditation, and the value that they find in the products and services currently offered by the ICAEL. The survey recipients were gathered from the ICAEL database and included laboratories that have purchased the accreditation materials, newly accredited laboratories, those that have been delayed accreditation, laboratories applying for reaccreditation, as well as labs that have simply requested placement on the ICAEL mailing list.

The ICAEL would like to sincerely thank all who took the time to participate. The information gathered has provided the ICAEL with a better understanding of how we are doing, as well as ways we can improve and provide our services more effectively. The survey had a 14% response rate (727 total responses were received), which is considered excellent by direct mail industry standards.

Sandra Katanick, CAE, the ICAEL Executive Director remarked, "When reviewing the survey results, I was delighted by the overwhelmingly positive feedback provided on areas such as customer service provided by ICAEL staff and usefulness of the products and services we provide. As an organization, our primary goal is to assist laboratory staff members through every stage of the accreditation process, and I am pleased to find that we are doing this to the satisfaction of so many of our participating laboratories. We are continuously training and re-examining our processes to ensure that we surpass current levels."

When assessing the survey results, it is important to first get to know our survey respondents. Nearly 87% listed the Technical Director of their laboratory as credentialed, as either RDCS or RCS. Other than the Technical Director, the total percentage of technical staff members who hold the RDCS or RCS credential in echocardiography was reported as 64.8%. Over 90% indicated having internet access at their laboratory; of those who do, nearly all (94.5%) use a high-speed connection.

GUIDING THE ICAEL ON FUTURE ACTIVITIES

The first question within the survey was designed to gauge potential interest, by the echocardiography community, in a physician peer-review service for case study evaluation to be offered by the ICAEL. It was explained that this proposed service would be designed to assist those laboratories that have difficulty with obtaining peer-review of their cases. 69.5% of the survey respondents indicated that they would either 'definitely participate' or 'might be interested' in such a service. In reviewing this feedback during their Winter 2005 meeting, the ICAEL Board of Directors determined that this data validates going forth with offering the physician peer-review service. While not yet finalized, the basic parameters of the service have been determined. This physician peer-review service will function independently of the ICAEL accreditation process, with the findings of the peer-review service having no impact on the accreditation of the laboratory. However, participation in the physician peer-review service can be used by applicant laboratories as a method for demonstrating compliance to the required peer-review component of laboratory quality assurance. Each participating laboratory will be charged a nominal fee, to offset the associated review costs. Specific details will be communicated in future issues of the newsletter and on www.icael.org.

USING THE ICAEL WEBSITE

Most laboratory staff members said they utilize the ICAEL website, www.icael.org, at least on occasion (70.4%), if not frequently (14.3%), to access information. A group of 15% said they did not use the website at all. Of those who do refer to the website for information, nearly all (over 98%) rated the website content 'helpful' to 'extremely helpful.'

Armed with the information that the website is so widely referenced by participating laboratories, the ICAEL Board of Directors has directed the staff to increase the scope and content in the coming months by adding features such as more examples of excellent protocols, policies and procedures; the posting of sample protocols in an RTF format that allows for copying and pasting the documents for modification and use by individual laboratories; examples of perfect studies; and the creation of a dedicated reaccreditation section, including specific tips for laboratories preparing to reapply.

COMPLETING THE APPLICATION

Achieving ICAEL accreditation is precisely that: an achievement. It is by no means an easy task. Participants were asked to evaluate the time it took to complete the application. Nearly three quarters of those who responded were split between rating it as 'acceptable' (36.8%) and 'far too excessive' (35.9%). A majority of the labs that have submitted an application found the complexity of the process to be 'acceptable' (44.8%) while there were a notable number who ranked it as 'excessive/too rigorous' (27.8%).

However, upon rating the overall value of accreditation achievement to the laboratory, a majority of respondents (89%) indicated 'valuable' or 'extremely valuable.' Of those laboratories not yet accredited, nearly all (97%) planned to submit an application; about 23% this quarter, 44.5% by the end of 2005, and nearly 30% plan to apply in 2006. Of the factors that influence the laboratory's decision to submit an application, participants were asked to choose all that apply from the possible responses [see chart to the right]. An overwhelming majority cited the ability to demonstrate and gain recognition for the high quality testing performed in their laboratory as their top motivation. NEXT PAGE >>