Changes: The Latest Revisions To The ICAVL Standards

As an accreditation organization, the ICAVL is expected to maintain a program that balances the changing needs of both the vascular community and the general public by influencing the quality of patient care provided. The ICAVL Standards are the most important component of that commitment. Composed by physicians and technologists from the ICAVL's sponsoring organizations, the Standards are critically reviewed by the ICAVL Board of Directors and revised as needed. The ICAVL is pleased to announce the release of the 2007 ICAVL Standards.

This article will provide an overview of the key revisions made to the 2007 ICAVL Standards. Visit www.icavl.org to access the new Standards. Upon opening these documents online, you will find that the edits made in conjunction with the release of this new version appear as highlighted text. However, when the documents are printed, the highlights will not appear in your permanent copy.

Organization

Related to both the Medical Director and Medical Staff sections, physicians now have an additional pathway by which they can meet the training and experience guidelines:

D.) Registered Physician In Vascular Interpretation - A physician has successfully obtained the ARDMS RPVI credential or ASN neurosonology certificate for extracranial and/or intracranial test interpretation.

Recognizing that individuals are being appointed as Technical Director of laboratories in name only to meet the requirement that every laboratory have a credentialed Technical Director, the Board of Directors amended the Standards to further ensure that the responsibilities of the position are fulfilled on a daily basis and that examinations are performed by or under the direct supervision of a credentialed sonographer:

The Technical Director is generally a full time position. If the Technical Director is not on site full time, they must work a minimum of at least 20% of normal business hours each month in the laboratory AND an appropriately credentialed technologist must be appointed in the Technical Director's physical absence and report to the Technical Director.

The appointed technologist:
a. Supervises and assists others in performing examinations
b. May oversee day to day activities
c. Communicates at least weekly with the Technical Director to maintain compliance with the testing standards

Within the Technical Staff section, a statement encouraging all technical staff to attain an appropriate credential in vascular testing was added:

Comment: Though the standards include multiple pathways by which a technical staff member may document experience and training, the ICAVL encourages that all staff members acquire an appropriate credential in vascular testing.

The mobile service section was strengthened through the addition of the following required characteristic:

7.2.9 A current list of all sites serviced by the mobile unit to include name and complete address of each site must be on file with the ICAVL. If during the accreditation period, any sites are added or eliminated, the ICAVL must be notified of these changes in writing.

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