It demonstrates a commitment
to quality care.
The purpose of the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation
of Magnetic Resonance Laboratories (ICAMRL) is to promote appropriate
diagnostic quality MR in the delivery of health care by providing
a peer review process of laboratory accreditation. Through the
accreditation process, magnetic resonance 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 ICAMRL 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, ICAMRL
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 ICAMRL 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 ICAMRL is a nonprofit organization established
with the support of the American Academy of Neurology,
the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American
College of Cardiology (ACC), the American Society of
Neuroimaging, and the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic
Resonance (SCMR). Each of the specialties involved in the
performance and interpretation of magnetic resonance are represented
on the Board of Directors which supervises the constitution,
bylaws, and operational activities of the ICAMRL.
It's proven successful.
The ICAMRL is managed by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission,
along with the ICAVL, ICAEL, and ICANL 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 both the ICAEL and the ICANL accreditation
programs, and are anticipated for the new ICAMRL program. |
