The ICAVL Seeks New Ways To Serve Vascular Community

from the Fall 2001 issue

CUSTOMER SERVICE TASK FORCE

The ICAVL is very interested in receiving input from applicant laboratories to determine how well we are living up to your expectations. Customers are an invaluable source for any organization that seeks to identify areas that need improvement and to anticipate future trends. At the July 2001 ICAVL Board Of Directors meeting, the development of a Customer Service Task Force as a mechanism for obtaining input from laboratories was approved. The task force is chaired by Board member Joanne Drago, LPN, RVT, of Michigan Vascular Center in Flint, Michigan and co-chaired by Edward I. Bluth, MD, Chairman of the Department of Diagnostic Radiology at the Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans, Louisiana, also a member of the Board Of Directors.

Laboratory directors invited to participate as task force members were randomly selected based on their practice settings, laboratory sizes, specialties and geographic locations to ensure a broad representation.

• Rick L. Anglen, PA-C, RVT, Technical Director of Ohio Valley Heart Care Center, Inc. / Vascular Lab in Evansville, Indiana;
• Donna A. Ciaccio, RN, RVT, Technical Director of Surgical Associates of Upstate New York in Syracuse, New York;
• Shelly Kaldenberg, RVT, Technical Director of the Iowa Heart Center Vascular Laboratory in Des Moines, Iowa;
• Melvin Lester, MD, Medical Director of Southfield Vascular Laboratories in Southfield, Michigan;
• Lorraine Pearlman, RVT, Technical Director of Staten Island University Hospital Vascular Laboratory in Staten Island, New York;
• Ray Schwend, RVT, Technical Director of Scripps Clinic / Vascular Lab in La Jolla, California;
• Catherine Secrist, AAS, RT, RDMS, RVT, Technical Director of Buffalo Ultrasound in Williamsville, New York.

One of the primary goals of the task force is to provide the ICAVL with a mechanism for receiving and evaluating input from laboratories that have applied for accreditation and consideration of implementing changes based on that feedback. Customer service is one of the primary areas of focus identified by ICAVL President, John Gocke, MD, MPH, RVT.

The task force will begin the process by soliciting input from applicant laboratories through surveys to be included with each laboratory's notification of their accreditation decision. Three surveys will be prepared for distribution to these laboratories; one survey will be designed specifically for newly accredited laboratories, a second for those laboratories that have been delayed accreditation, and a third survey will be prepared for previously accredited laboratories that have been granted reaccreditation.

Laboratories responding to the surveys will be kept anonymous; the information and comments they provide will not be linked to their laboratory. The ICAVL looks forward to receiving valuable input from applicant laboratories and encourages all that receive a survey to provide their feedback on the process. We have worked hard over the past ten years to develop an equitable accreditation process that best serves the vascular community and ultimately the patient, and we will strive toward continuous improvement in the future.

CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE

A Continuing Medical Education (CME) Committee, recently formed by the ICAVL Board Of Directors, is currently compiling an on-line list of CME opportunities that fulfill the requirements of the ICAVL Essentials and Standards. The list will be posted on the ICAVL website in the coming months.

The Essentials and Standards state that all medical and technical members of the vascular laboratory staff are required to have a minimum of 15 hours of CME relevant to noninvasive vascular testing every three years. For physicians, at least 10 of the 15 hours must be AMA Category I. Laboratory correlation conferences or other internal quality assurance meetings are not to be counted as part of the CME requirement. Similarly, external presentations primarily focusing on laboratory politics, billing and coding may not completely satisfy the Standards. All relevant CME should address principles, instrumentation, techniques, or interpretation of noninvasive vascular testing.

The committee anticipates that with new CME opportunities continuously emerging, the list will never be completely comprehensive. However, the list will provide a service to all laboratory staff members seeking educational opportunities by providing access to upcoming conferences and lectures that will meet the ICAVL CME requirements. The committee has already begun its review of CME programs and welcomes additional submissions for consideration. Meeting brochures or preliminary programs may be submitted to ICAVL CME Committee, c/o Aaron Watkins, Communications Director, 8840 Stanford Boulevard, Suite 4900, Columbia, MD 21045. Links to Internet CME programs may be submitted via e-mail to watkins@intersocietal.org.

The committee includes the chair, James Benenati, MD, representative from the Society of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology; Joanne Drago, LPN, RVT, from the Society of Vascular Technology; Gregory L. Moneta, MD, from the American Association for Vascular Surgery; Michael Sloan, MD, from the American Academy of Neurology/American Society of Neuroimaging; and J. Dennis Baker, MD, Consultant to the Board. Aaron Watkins, ICAVL Communications Director, serves as the staff liaison.

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