ASE releases echo lab guidelines

Jan 5, 2011

The American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) has published recommendations and measurable quality standards for echocardiography laboratories in the January issue of the Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography.

The report provides specific recommendations and standards for each of the key components of the physical laboratory and the imaging process, including staff requirements, equipment requirements, patient selection, image acquisition, image interpretation, and results communication, according to the Morrisville, NC-based society.

According to the ASE, the guidelines feature several important recommendations:

All laboratories should be accredited by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories (ICAEL).

Sonographers should achieve an appropriate national credential within the first two years of employment.

Each laboratory should have a physician director who has completed level III training in echocardiography or a combination of level II training and current certifications from the National Board of Echocardiography.

Details are provided as to the minimum components of each type of echocardiographic exam (transthoracic, transesophageal, stress).

All laboratories should develop a continuous quality improvement (CQI) plan, consisting of case reviews and cross-modality comparisons. Recommendations include an annual review, for completeness and accuracy, of random samples of studies from each sonographer and physician. Guidelines are also provided to ensure physician interpretations are in the medical record in a timely fashion.

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