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ICAVL
POSITION STATEMENT ON SCREENING
The
mission of the ICAVL is to promote high quality noninvasive
vascular diagnostic examinations.
Noninvasive
tests are being promoted to screen for asymptomatic cardiovascular
disease, promote risk factor modification, and assure
earlier intervention to reduce future morbidity. The current
opinion of many specialists in vascular disease is that
there are selected groups of asymptomatic people who could
benefit from screening.
Although
screening examinations may involve self-selected participants
and be performed in nontraditional settings, standards
of vascular testing similar to diagnostic examinations
are nonetheless necessary to ensure high quality patient
care and to promote health. The standards of vascular
testing for diagnostic examinations are well established,
and the mechanisms to assure the quality of testing are
provided through laboratory accreditation and personnel
certification.
All
noninvasive vascular studies, screening and diagnostic,
must be reliable and of high quality. To that end, the
critical elements of screening require:
- Appropriate
selection of participants. Screening guidelines
must be based upon contemporary scientific publications,
and the use of screening in low risk individuals
has not been shown to be scientifically valid.
Screening cannot replace diagnostic examinations
for symptomatic individuals.
- Participant
education describing the nature of screening and
significance of normal and abnormal results.
- Appropriate
protocols for examination performance and interpretation.
- Trained
technical personnel that are certified or under
the direct supervision of certified personnel.
All personnel, those performing and those interpreting
examinations, must have adequate experience and
relevant training.
- Well-maintained
equipment of sufficient operating condition and
quality to provide accurate results.
- High-quality
examinations demonstrable through ongoing quality
assurance.
- Appropriate
reporting of results to the participant and their
health care provider.
- Compliance
with HIPAA and other relevant regulations.
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Only
those entities or laboratories that can demonstrate compliance
with the above elements should be considered eligible
to perform screening tests.
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