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Improving compliance with Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) reporting standards: A serial comparison of 523 labs over seven years

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Journal of Nuclear Cardiology Aims and scope

Abstract

Background

The aim of this study was to evaluate reporting compliance of laboratories applying for serial accreditation by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) and compare compliance based on laboratory characteristics.

Methods

All laboratories applying for IAC accreditation for the first time in 2008 and then twice more (2011-2014) were evaluated for compliance with 18 reporting elements. The elements were ranked into three severity groups (high/moderate/low).

Results

Reports from 523 laboratories were evaluated. The percentage of laboratories with reporting issues by cycle was 66.2% for cycle 1, 36.7% for cycle 2, and 43.8% for cycle 3 (p < .001). For most of the 18 elements, there was a significant decrease in the percentage of labs with issues. Less moderate and high severity errors were seen over time. Also, the mean non-compliant elements per laboratory decreased from 5.78 ± 2.72 at cycle 1, down to 1.25 ± 1.77 at cycle 3.

Conclusions

In facilities applying for 3 consecutive IAC accreditation cycles, reporting compliance with IAC Standards improved between cycles 1-2 and 1-3. No significant improvement occurred between cycles 2-3. Although the quality of reports improved overall, problems remain in quantifying myocardial perfusion defects, documenting report approval date, and integrating stress and imaging reports.

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Abbreviations

ASNC:

American Society of Nuclear Cardiology

CBNC:

Certification Board of Nuclear Cardiology

IAC:

Intersocietal Accreditation Commission

MPI:

Myocardial perfusion imaging

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Author Contributions

Study concept and design: Tilkemeier and Farrell. Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: All authors. Drafting of the manuscript: All authors. Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: All authors. Statistical analysis: Ewing. Obtained funding: Not applicable. Administrative, technical, or material support: Farrell. Study supervision: Tilkemeier and Farrell.

Disclosure

Farrell is an employee of the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission. Maddux, Ewing, and Tilkemeier have no conflicts of interest. No financial support was received for this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Greenville Health System, 701 Grove Road Support Tower 5, Greenville, SC, 29605, USA

    P. Timothy Maddux MD, Joseph A. Ewing PhD & Peter L. Tilkemeier MD

  2. Intersocietal Accreditation Commission, Ellicott City, MD, USA

    Mary Beth Farrell MS

Authors
  1. P. Timothy Maddux MD
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  2. Mary Beth Farrell MS
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  3. Joseph A. Ewing PhD
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  4. Peter L. Tilkemeier MD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mary Beth Farrell MS.

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Maddux, P.T., Farrell, M.B., Ewing, J.A. et al. Improving compliance with Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) reporting standards: A serial comparison of 523 labs over seven years. J. Nucl. Cardiol. 25, 2044–2052 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12350-017-0904-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12350-017-0904-1

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