Changes: The Latest Revisions To The ICAVL Standards
from
the November 2007 issue |
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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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