Echocardiography Laboratory Accreditation The objectives of echocardiography laboratory accreditation process is to ensure high quality patient care and to promote health care by providing a mechanism of peer review. In addition, accreditation develops and maintains a process for educating echocard-iography laboratory personnel. To meet these objectives, the Intersocietal Commission for Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories (ICAEL) was established in 1996. This commission is a unified body of physicians and Sonographers from three cardiology organizations - 1) the American College of Cardiology, 2) the American Society of Echocardiography, and 3) the Society of Pediatric Echocardiography. The Commission has developed minimum standards and guidelines providing for the accreditation of adult and pediatric echocardiography laboratories. These standards established by the Commission have provided a mechanism for monitoring of echocardiography quality by the profession itself rather than by governmental bodies. To reflect the educational mission of the ICAEL accreditation process, the Commission purposefully used language such as "should" rather than "must" and "recommended" rather than "required". This language, therefore, allows for inclusion of all echocardiography laboratories in the accreditation process. Importantly, the standards will be continuously reviewed by the Commission and changed as appropriate to reflect current practices. Impact on Sonographers The accreditation standards call for Sonographers to have a minimum of 12 months experience in the echocardiography laboratory with performance of at least 600 examinations (Sonographers with lesser experience are considered trainees). Ideally, Sonographers should have appropriate credentials in echocardiography. Additionally, the sonographer ideally should have completed a CAAHEP accredited ultrasound education program, or received a Bachelor's degree. Impact on Physicians The accreditation standards call for physician echocardiographers to have completed a 6 month formal training program including interpretation of 600 echocardiograms/year at the minimum. Alternatively, at this time, physicians may have 3 years practice experience with interpretation of at least 900 echocardiograms. How to Contact ICAEL ICAEL The Intersocietal Commission For The Accreditation Of Echocardiography Laboratories 8830 Stanford Boulevard Suite 306 Columbia, Maryland 21045 phone: 410.872.0100 toll free: 800.838.2110 fax: 410.872.0030 Click here to visit ICAEL's Website