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Upon an application's arrival at the ICAVL office, it is unpacked and organized for processing. The information is then imported from the disk or the FTP site into the ICAVL database. The application is then assigned an identification number and filed in a holding area.
Once the application is placed in the holding area, it is ready to undergo an in-house review of the organization application and a general review of the remaining application sections to assess the completeness and appropriateness of the materials submitted. Please note this is a preliminary review, and does not include the technical components of the application. If obvious information has not been included in the application (e.g., an inappropriate number of case studies, missing protocols), the ICAVL staff contacts the laboratory to request the needed information. It is advantageous to the laboratory to send this requested information promptly. The in-house review does not guarantee that the Board of Directors will not request additional information, but does assist in avoiding some unnecessary delays.
During the course of the in-house review, the applications are assigned to application reviewers. ICAVL application reviewers include physicians, sonographers and technologists; all are employed in accredited laboratories, are credentialed and have attended an invitational training workshop with the ICAVL. Each application is individually assigned and shipped to two reviewers, based upon each reviewer’s expertise and availability. Over the next four to six weeks, the application reviewers complete a detailed review of clinical components, including the case studies, for adherence to The Standards.
Upon completion of each application's review, the comments and recommendations are returned to the ICAVL office. These comments are compiled and further reviewed by the ICAVL Technical Manager and the Director of Accreditation, in preparation for discussion and the final review by the ICAVL Board of Directors.
Once the Board of Directors meets and makes the final accreditation decisions, the Technical Manager notifies each laboratory, in writing, of the Board decisions and any additional information required to grant accreditation. These notification letters are given priority and are sent in the timeliest manner possible. Two copies of the correspondence are sent to the laboratory; an original to the Medical Director, and a copy to the Technical Director. When accreditation is granted, the official certificate, press release, logo CD and Application Review Findings CD accompany the letter; these documents are sent UPS Ground to the attention of the Technical Director.
As illustrated above, there are a number of avenues through which an accreditation application must travel in order to complete the process. However, it should be reassuring to laboratories that the process of reviewing applications and determining accreditation decisions, though somewhat lengthy, is thorough and intensive -- a fitting complement to the time, effort and preparation put forth by those seeking accreditation.
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