Abstract
Article: Credentials of Professionals Performing Echocardiography: Insights From the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission-Echocardiography Database
Authors: Matthew W. Parker, MD, Diana M. Sobieraj, PharmD, and Craig I. Coleman, PharmD
Category: Other [OT]
Credit: 1.0 SDMS CME Credit
Objectives: After studying the article entitled “Credentials of Professionals Performing Echocardiography: Insights From the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission-Echocardiography Database,” you will be able to:
Explain the importance of sonographer certification in echocardiography accreditation
Determine the relative significance of sonographer and physician certification in echocardiography accreditation
Describe the importance of the role of technical director in echocardiography accreditation
Analysis of the IAC-Echocardiography database showed that over 75% of sonographers performing echocardiography Have a BS degree Are hospital based Are credentialed Are scanning without any credential
A National Board of Echocardiography (NBE) testamur is a physician who Has completed the certification process Has passed the examination of special competence in adult echocardiography Interprets echocardiographic examinations Performs adult echocardiographic examination
The data analysis showed that the greatest deficiency in adult transthoracic echocardiogram image quality occurred in laboratories With more than one site That are hospital based With a medical director having NBE status With a physician technical director
Current IAC-Echocardiography Standards require that the technical director Has an appropriate registry credential Has at least 12 months of clinical experience Has at least a BS degree Has performed more than 500 echocardiograms
For the data analyzed, a “delay” decision was given in approximately ____ of cases 35% to 40% 40% to 50% 50% to 60% 60% to 65%
The categories of deficiencies noted for a “delay” decision on accreditation, in decreasing order of frequency, were Staff, Image Quality, Imaging Protocol, Quality Assurance Staff, Quality Assurance, Imaging Protocol, Image Quality Quality Assurance, Imaging Protocol, Staff, Image Quality Quality Assurance, Image Quality, Staff, Imaging Protocol
The data analysis showed that secondary applications for transesophageal echocardiography met IAC Standards in approximately ______ of cases 30% to 35% 35% to 40% 40% to 45% 45% to 50%
The Intersocietal Accreditation Commission for Echocardiography bases peer-reviewed accreditation decisions on Staff training Proper laboratory protocols Quality assurance policies All of the above
Studies have shown that an important factor contributing to image quality in protocol-driven examinations is Interpretation by a board-certified physician Performance in a hospital-based laboratory Performance by a credentialed sonographer Performance in a multisite laboratory
In the data analysis, the characteristic most strongly associated with deficiencies in quality assurance was Number of sites Application for a secondary test A physician technical director A hospital-based facility
Footnotes