ICAEL Announces Its Purchase of Echo ToolBoxTM(ETB) from the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE)

DECEMBER 29, 2009 | “The ICAEL’s acquisition of the Echo ToolBox TM will now provide a more efficient avenue for laboratory accreditation. This will be a clear benefit for those seeking to demonstrate their commitment to excellence in echocardiography. We appreciate ASE’s strong continued support of the accreditation process,” remarked ICAEL President, Geoffrey Rose, MD, FACC, FASE.

By acquiring ETB, the ICAEL will be able to utilize the popular policy wizards, tips and other tools that have been valuable in helping echo labs standardize their policies and protocols to meet the accreditation standards for the performance of quality echocardiography studies. The incorporation of these tools into the soon-to-be-released ICAEL Online Accreditation application format will enhance the user’s ability to progress quickly through the application. The ICAEL looks forward to enhancing the accreditation process for all participating laboratories through the integration of many of the components of ETB.

Current ETB users with support questions should contact ICAEL Senior Application Specialist Laesha Shivdasani at shivdasani@intersocietal.org or 800-838-2110.

CMS to Conduct Hospital Revalidation Initiative

MARCH 2010 | The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will conduct a revalidation effort that will ensure current enrollment information from all hospitals. The revalidation focuses on hospitals that have not updated their enrollment information with Medicare in more than 6 years.

By regulation, a provider has 60 days to respond to a revalidation request by completing and submitting the Medicare enrollment application (CMS-855A or Internet-based PECOS enrollment application) and applicable supporting documentation (e.g., Electronic Funds Transfer Authorization Agreement [CMS-588]), according to CMS.

The CMS is encouraging hospitals to:

• Consider completing and submitting the CMS-855A as an initial application or completing and submitting the Internet-based PECOS enrollment application and supporting documentation on a voluntary basis. Note: By submitting an enrollment application on a voluntary basis, hospitals will avoid the time pressures associated with revalidation.


• Consider using Internet-based PECOS as the method of completing and submitting the enrollment application. If the decision is made to use Internet-based PECOS, then the hospital's Authorized Official should take a few minutes to review the "Getting Started Guide for Organizations" found in the Internet-based PECOS download section of www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareProviderSupEnroll.
  
  

New Mexico Sonographer Licensure Bill Signed Into Law
FIRST STATE TO REQUIRE LICENSURE FOR SONOGRAPHERS

APRIL 2009, COURTESY SDMS NEWS | New Mexico Governor,  Bill Richardson, signed a historic bill that, for the first time in the United States, requires licensure of sonographers. The bill adds sonographers (and MRI technologists) to the list of medical imaging professionals licensed by the State of New Mexico (NM). Until now, anyone could perform sonograms in NM. Prior to the passage of the NM licensure law, virtually all other health care providers and professionals had to be licensed. As a result, the public is often surprised to learn that the person performing a medical sonogram does not have any state licensure or national certification requirements. 

To learn more about the implications of the NM sonographer licensure law, see the article in the March SDMS News Wave at www.sdms.org/members/news/NewsWave/NW-March-2009.pdf

A number of ICAEL accreditation applicants, along with applicants to other Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) sister organizations, have recently inquired into what steps they should be taking now in order to comply with the privacy standards that have been promulgated under the Administrative Simplification Provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). As many of you know, on April 12, 2001, Tommy Thompson, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that these standards would proceed to an implementation stage beginning April 14, 2001. However, it is important to remember a couple of points before considering any changes in the way information is used, including in the provision of information to the IAC.

First, although the standards have been finalized, entities covered by the standards, such as vascular, echocardiography, nuclear medicine and magnetic resonance imaging laboratories which engage in electronic standard transactions, have two years from the effective date to come into compliance with the standards. This means that covered entities have until April 14, 2003 to comply with the standards. HHS indicated in the Preamble to the standards that it will not seek the imposition of penalties prior to the compliance date.

Second, in his announcement, Mr. Thompson referred to the possibility of further changes to the privacy standards when he stated that HHS will be issuing guidelines which "...will allow us to clarify some of the confusion regarding the impact this rule might have on health care delivery and access." He also added that "...we will consider any necessary modifications that will ensure the quality of care does not suffer inadvertently from this rule." In fact, the IAC is currently working with representatives of HHS to see that certain clarifications or modifications are made to the standards to ensure that the standards do not undermine accreditation functions and jeopardize quality of care.

So, in considering compliance with HIPAA's privacy standards, accreditation applicants should realize in determining how and what information to provide the ICAEL and other accrediting bodies of the IAC that they are not required to meet the privacy standards prior to April 14, 2003.

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