Accreditation is Perceived to Improve the Quality of Vascular Testing Facilities

Abstract

Objective Accreditation for noninvasive vascular testing facilities has been available since 1990, but is not mandatory. We sought to determine the perceived value of accreditation among the staff of vascular laboratories accredited by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC). Methods A multi-item electronic survey was sent to medical and technical staff and administrative contacts within the IAC database. Respondents were asked to rate statements about the impact of accreditation on their facility. Data for vascular testing facilities are presented. Results Of the 7,289 surveys sent, there were 882 (12.1%) respondents. Respondents were primarily responsible for the facility's accreditation application (75.0%), with the majority being technologists (82.0%), followed by physicians (11.3%). Most respondents were from hospital-based facilities (51.1%) and from facilities accredited for >3 years (79.6%). The majority, 94.3% of respondents, felt that maintaining accreditation of their facility was important (3.5% neutral, 2.2% not important). The greatest perceived benefits were in standardization of study acquisition and reporting, adherence to guidelines, and report completeness. Conclusions The majority of respondents from IAC-accredited vascular testing facilities viewed accreditation favorably. The favorable perception of accreditation by its users supports the value of accreditation for vascular testing facilities.

IAC Vascular Testing Facility Accreditation Issues

“…A recent survey by Brinza et al showed that vascular testing facilities find value in accreditation and feel that accreditation had a positive impact on image quality, result reporting, and test performance. 4 The perceptions of these facilities correlate closely with the results of this study demonstrating that the accreditation identifies issues with reporting, image/waveform quality, and protocol which must be corrected before accreditation is granted.…”

Reasons for Delay of Accreditation for Vascular Testing Laboratories Applying for Accreditation by Intersocietal Accreditation Commission

“…4,12 These findings are consistent with the results of an electronic survey of personnel within IAC-accredited vascular laboratories, where 76% believed that accreditation process helped the facility to identify imaging issues and 70% felt the IAC accreditation process aided in the correction of issues. 13 Furthermore, most laboratories believed IAC accreditation improved report and image quality, 80% and 70%, respectively; two of the most common issues identified in this study.…”

Predictors of health professionals’ satisfaction with continuing education: A cross-sectional study

“…following the financial crisis (42) . No studies analysing the with health accreditation processes (43) . This study has shown a slight trend towards greater satisfaction perceived with accredited activities as compared with non-accredited ones, in particular with respect to utility, to the methodology used, and to the teaching capacity.…”