When you think of CardioServ, the first thing that often comes to mind is our blogs! We strive to inspire excellence in imaging, and a big part of that is through education. What you may not realize is that for the past 17 years, we have been helping clients across the nation earn the recognition of echo accreditation, vascular, and nuclear cardiology. This week we will share the surprising truth about echo accreditation that we discovered along the way.

WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED IN 2009?!!

CardioServ exists today because I experienced, firsthand, the positive impact of continuous quality improvement. During the accreditation process, working side by side with great folks like you, I witnessed the diagnostic quality of echocardiograms improve. IAC accreditation was associated with labs wanting to improve quality and standardized practices. Then in 2009, United Healthcare released news of echo accreditation as a condition for reimbursement. This shifted the motive of lab accreditation. Suddenly labs were rushing to achieve accreditation because they felt like they had to complete it.

ECHO ACCREDITATION…DO I HAVE TO??!

To be honest, I think the United Healthcare news unintentionally set the tone of ‘obligatory’ accreditation. As a national echo accreditation consulting company, we started to see echo accreditation outcome goals change. Accreditation was no longer seen as the beginning of a continuous journey for quality improvement but rather the end of a process. The certificate on the wall was the new goal.

The truth about echo accreditation is that the treasure lies in the very process of seeking accreditation. It’s the looking and the reviewing that provides the opportunity for growth, not the certificate on the wall. So, when clients are upset that This one doesn’t read their reports completely or That one rushes their echo and doesn’t follow the protocol, I smile inside. Because what looks like a headache and annoyance to them is the beginning of growth. How great that a spotlight is placed on issues that were previously brushed aside!

We Are Here To Help You

So here’s the good news…we are here to help you. We are committed to staying focused on the bigger picture of quality improvement in addition to helping you earn the recognition of accreditation. We are changing the way facilities achieve accreditation. So add accreditation to your New Year Resolutions and let us help!

• First-time accreditation
• Reaccreditation
• Audits
• Delayed Status
• Echo, Nuclear Cardiology, Vascular Ultrasound

Judith Buckland, MBA, RDCS, FASE