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As
an accreditation organization, the ICANL is expected to maintain
a program that balances the changing needs of both the nuclear
medicine / nuclear cardiology / PET imaging community and the
general public by influencing the quality of patient care provided.
The ICANL Standards are the most important component
of that commitment. Composed by physicians, nuclear medicine
technologists and physicists from the ICANL's sponsoring organizations,
the Standards are critically reviewed by the ICANL Board
of Directors and revised as needed. The ICANL is pleased to
announce the release of the 2007 ICANL Standards.
According
to Sue Abreu, MD, ICANL President-Elect and Chair of the Standard
Revision Committee, "As the ICANL accreditation process
has evolved over the past ten years, we have learned about particular
parts of the Standards that were confusing, that needed further
detail or that needed to be eliminated altogether. This new
edition of the ICANL Standards attempts to resolve these
issues. The ICANL Board of Directors received input from many
of our trained site visitors and application reviewers, as well
as from our accredited facilities, regarding Standards
issues. This feedback was considered during the revision process.
The Board is very grateful to all who took the time to provide
their suggestions."
Abreu
added, "To further help applicant laboratories, the ICANL
has expanded its Frequently
Asked Questions to assist with further explanations of specific
standards. These explanations are separate from the ICANL
Standards so that the standards are kept relatively short,
but also so that the explanations can reflect the latest accepted
medical practices."
This
article will provide an overview of the key revisions made to
the ICANL Standards. Please visit www.icanl.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.
Following
is a summary of the primary changes made within the 2007 ICANL
Standards. These changes occurred within both the ICANL
Standards for Nuclear Medicine/PET Accreditation and the
ICANL Standards for Nuclear Cardiology Accreditation,
which have now been merged into one set of standards for
all areas of nuclear imaging; nuclear cardiology, nuclear medicine,
and PET.
As
in previous versions of the Standards, the revised standards
include both requirements and recommendations for nuclear medicine
facilities. All absolute requirements appear in bolded text
and failure to meet these guidelines will result in either a
Delayed or Provisional accreditation decision.
A
formatting change was made, changing the sections and slightly
renaming each. The Standards are now divided into the
following sections:
- Part
A: Structure, Organization and Definitions
(formerly Part I: Structure and Organization)
- Part
B: Procedures and Protocols
(formerly Part II: Process of Nuclear Medicine Procedures)
- Part
C: Quality Improvement
(formerly Part III: Outcome and Quality Assessment)
Each
numbered section is now preceded by its corresponding part letter,
for further clarification (i.e.: 1.1.3 is now A1.1.3).
Additionally, standards that are specific to nuclear cardiology
end with the letter C. Those standards pertaining only to general
nuclear medicine/PET imaging end with the letter N.
PART A: STRUCTURE, ORGANIZATION AND DEFINITIONS
The relevance of Continuing Medical Education
for physicians was defined using language from the Certification
Board of Nuclear Cardiology (CBNC):
A1.1.3.1 Continuing
Education Requirements
A. The Medical Director
must obtain at least 15 hours of AMA Category I continuing
medical education (CME) credits, relevant to nuclear medicine,
every three years.
Comment: "Relevant"
to nuclear medicine includes content that is directly related
to the performance or interpretation of nuclear cardiology,
nuclear imaging or interventions used during nuclear testing
(such as stress testing). This does not include education
primarily concerning echocardiography/ultrasound, MRI, CT,
cardiac catheterization, general medicine, or the treatment
of diseases unless related to the interpretation of nuclear
imaging or radionuclide therapies.
In addition, a longstanding policy related to
alternate pathways for fulfilling the CME requirement was incorporated
as part of the Standards:
If the medical director [statement
also appears in medical staff section] has successfully attained
one or more of the following within the three years prior
to the application date, the CME requirement will be considered
fulfilled: completion of an ACGME approved residency or fellowship,
attaining certification by an ABMS recognized board, or attaining
certification by the CBNC.
Related to the Technical Director Required Training
and Experience, the statement regarding a credential in nuclear
medicine technology was strengthened through the addition of
an effective date for compliance. In addition, the nationally
recognized Canadian credentials for nuclear medicine technologists
are now included.
An appropriate credential
in nuclear medicine technology, i.e. certification [Certified
Nuclear Medicine Technologist (CNMT) or Registered Technologist
(Nuclear) RT(N) credential in the U.S., or Registered Technologist
Nuclear Medicine (RTNM) or Medical Radiation Technologist
(Nuclear) MRT(N) credential in Canada] and/or state license
to practice as a nuclear medicine technologist. Effective
January 1, 2010, all technical directors must possess either
the CNMT, RT(N), RTNM, or MRT(N) credential.
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