It demonstrates a commitment to quality care.

The purpose of the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Vascular Laboratories (ICAVL) is to provide a mechanism for accreditation of facilities which perform comprehensive testing for vascular disease with noninvasive testing modalities. Through the accreditation process, laboratories assess every aspect of daily operation and its impact on the quality of health care provided to patients. While completing the accreditation application, laboratories often identify and correct potential problems, revising protocols and validating quality assurance programs. Because accreditation is renewed every three years, a long-term commitment to quality and self-assessment is developed and maintained. Laboratories may use ICAVL accreditation as the foundation to create and achieve realistic quality care goals.

It provides a confidential peer-review.

Designed to serve laboratories as an educational tool, ICAVL accreditation is made up of two crucial steps. First, laboratories conduct a detailed self-evaluation using The ICAVL Standards and the application. Completion of the application requires detailed information on all aspects of laboratory operation as well as the submission of actual case studies for review. The case studies are crucial in determining the laboratory's compliance with The Standards, and are the basis for judgment of the quality of work that laboratories perform. Once the self-evaluation is completed, the documents and case studies are reviewed by the ICAVL Board of Directors. All aspects of the review are confidential.

It's a recruiting tool.

Accredited laboratories can use their accreditation as a recruiting tool to attract the best and brightest physicians and technologists. Talented professionals look for high-quality programs, and accreditation assures potential employees that a laboratory is dedicated to achieving the highest standards for patient care.

It's intersocietal.

The ICAVL is a nonprofit organization established with the support of the twelve sponsoring organizations. Representatives from these organizations, including sonographers, technologists, and physicians, serve on the ICAVL Board of Directors. All areas of noninvasive vascular testing were represented during the creation of The Standards for accreditation, and all areas continue to steer the accreditation process.

It's proven successful.

In its second decade offering noninvasive vascular accreditation, the ICAVL has proven itself successful, and reimbursement for vascular laboratories in more than 30 states hinges on either laboratory accreditation or technologist certification. During the past decade, ICAVL accreditation has been used as the model for similar programs in other specialties. Echocardiography laboratories are able to seek accreditation through the ICAEL. Nuclear medicine, nuclear cardiology, and PET laboratories are served by the ICANL. Magnetic resonance laboratories may seek accreditation through the ICAMRL. Computed tomography laboratories may apply through the ICACTL. Collectively, these five accrediting organizations form the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC).