8840 Stanford Boulevard, Suite 4900, Columbia, MD 21045
Telephone: (410) 872-0100 Fax: (410) 872-0030
The ICAEL was established with the support of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE), the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the Society of Pediatric Echocardiography (SOPE) to provide a peer review mechanism to encourage and recognize the provision of quality echocardiographic diagnostic evaluations by a process of voluntary accreditation. A non-profit organization, the ICAEL is dedicated to ensuring high quality patient care and to promoting health care.
Participation in the accreditation process is voluntary. Accreditation status signifies that the facility has been reviewed by an independent agency, which recognizes the laboratories commitment to quality testing for the diagnosis of heart disease.
It is estimated that one
American
die in every 32 seconds of cardiovascular disease, disorders of the
heart
and blood vessels. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death
in the United States, costing society over 83.7 billion dollars each
year
in health services, medications and lost work time due to disability.
Cardiac
structure and flow information provided by echocardiographic testing is
useful in the detection and management of many types of heart disease.
This noninvasive test has be some one of the standard diagnostic tools
in cardiology with an estimated 10 million echocardiograms performed
annually
in the United States. Echocardiography is a complex imaging technique
that
relies on the experience and training of both the physician and
sonographer.
Their expertise and technical abilities determine the diagnostic
accuracy
of an echocardiographic examination. The intersocietal Commission for
the
Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories (ICAEL) has developed an
accreditation program, which evaluates the quality of these and other
critical
elements of an echocardiography laboratory.