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Today's
health-care organizations are held to very high levels of accountability
— by peers, by the general public, and by Medicare and other
payers. ICANL accreditation is a means by which general nuclear
medicine, nuclear cardiology and PET facilities can evaluate
and demonstrate the level of patient care they provide.
Committed
to balancing the changing needs of the nuclear medicine, the
nuclear cardiology and PET communities with those of the general
public, the ICANL was created by uniting physicians and technologists
from the sponsoring organizations. Collectively these individuals
created the Standards, an extensive compilation of documents
defining the minimal requirements for nuclear medicine and nuclear
cardiology laboratories to provide high quality care. Routinely
revised by the ICANL Board Of Directors to reflect current practices,
the Standards are used by laboratories as the foundation
to create and achieve realistic quality care goals.
ICANL accreditation is an educational process, not a pass-fail exam.
The process begins with a comprehensive self-evaluation by laboratory
staff. Completion of the application for accreditation requires
information on all aspects of laboratory operation as well as
the submission of actual case studies for review. After the
application is submitted to the ICANL, it undergoes a confidential
peer-review by the ICANL's trained reviewers, including physicians
and technologists, before a final decision is made by the Board
of Directors.
The
ICANL does not restrict accreditation to the "perfect"
nuclear medicine, nuclear cardiology or PET facility.
Rather, accreditation is based on a policy of substantial compliance
with the Standards. The ICANL provides guidance to assist
the laboratory in meeting the requirements of the Standards.
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