TY - JOUR
T1 - Intersocietal accreditation commission accreditation status of outpatient cerebrovascular testing facilities among medicare beneficiaries
AU - Brown, Scott
AU - Wang, Kefeng
AU - Dong, Chuanhui
AU - Farrell, Mary Beth
AU - Heller, Gary V.
AU - Gornik, Heather L.
AU - Hutchisson, Marge
AU - Needleman, Laurence
AU - Benenati, James F.
AU - Jaff, Michael R.
AU - Meier, George H.
AU - Perese, Susana
AU - Bendick, Phillip
AU - Hamburg, Naomi M.
AU - Lohr, Joann M.
AU - La Perna, Lucy
AU - Leers, Steven A.
AU - Lilly, Michael P.
AU - Tegeler, Charles
AU - Katanick, Sandra L.
AU - Alexandrov, Andrei V.
AU - Siddiqui, Adnan H.
AU - Rundek, Tatjana
PY - 2016/9/1
Y1 - 2016/9/1
N2 - Objectives-Accreditation of cerebrovascular ultrasound laboratories by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) and equivalent organizations is supported by the Joint Commission certification of stroke centers. Limited information exists on the accreditation status and geographic distribution of cerebrovascular testing facilities in the United States. Our study objectives were to identify the proportion of IAC-accredited outpatient cerebrovascular testing facilities used by Medicare beneficiaries, describe their geographic distribution, and identify variations in cerebrovascular testing procedure types and volumes by accreditation status. Methods-As part of the VALUE (Vascular Accreditation, Location, and Utilization Evaluation) Study, we examined the proportion of IAC-accredited facilities that conducted cerebrovascular testing in a 5% Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services random Outpatient Limited Data Set in 2011 and investigated their geographic distribution using geocoding. Results-Among 7327 outpatient facilities billing Medicare for cerebrovascular testing, only 22% (1640) were IAC accredited. The proportion of IAC-accredited cerebrovascular testing facilities varied by region (χ2[3] = 177.1; P< .0001), with 29%, 15%, 13%, and 10% located in the Northeast, South, Midwest, and West, respectively. However, of the total number of cerebrovascular outpatient procedures conducted in 2011 (38,555), 40% (15,410) were conducted in IAC-accredited facilities. Most cerebrovascular testing procedures were carotid duplex, with 40% of them conducted in IAC-accredited facilities. Conclusions-The proportion of facilities conducting outpatient cerebrovascular testing accredited by the IAC is low and varies by region. The growing number of certified stroke centers should be accompanied by more accredited outpatient vascular testing facilities, which could potentially improve the quality of stroke care.
AB - Objectives-Accreditation of cerebrovascular ultrasound laboratories by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) and equivalent organizations is supported by the Joint Commission certification of stroke centers. Limited information exists on the accreditation status and geographic distribution of cerebrovascular testing facilities in the United States. Our study objectives were to identify the proportion of IAC-accredited outpatient cerebrovascular testing facilities used by Medicare beneficiaries, describe their geographic distribution, and identify variations in cerebrovascular testing procedure types and volumes by accreditation status. Methods-As part of the VALUE (Vascular Accreditation, Location, and Utilization Evaluation) Study, we examined the proportion of IAC-accredited facilities that conducted cerebrovascular testing in a 5% Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services random Outpatient Limited Data Set in 2011 and investigated their geographic distribution using geocoding. Results-Among 7327 outpatient facilities billing Medicare for cerebrovascular testing, only 22% (1640) were IAC accredited. The proportion of IAC-accredited cerebrovascular testing facilities varied by region (χ2[3] = 177.1; P< .0001), with 29%, 15%, 13%, and 10% located in the Northeast, South, Midwest, and West, respectively. However, of the total number of cerebrovascular outpatient procedures conducted in 2011 (38,555), 40% (15,410) were conducted in IAC-accredited facilities. Most cerebrovascular testing procedures were carotid duplex, with 40% of them conducted in IAC-accredited facilities. Conclusions-The proportion of facilities conducting outpatient cerebrovascular testing accredited by the IAC is low and varies by region. The growing number of certified stroke centers should be accompanied by more accredited outpatient vascular testing facilities, which could potentially improve the quality of stroke care.
KW - Carotid duplex ultrasound
KW - Cerebrovascular disorders
KW - Cerebrovascular testing
KW - Geographic disparities
KW - Health services research
KW - Intersocietal Accreditation Commission
KW - Medicare beneficiaries
KW - Public policy
KW - Sonography
KW - Transcranial Doppler ultrasound
KW - Ultrasound
KW - Vascular laboratory testing accreditation
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U2 - 10.7863/ultra.15.08021
DO - 10.7863/ultra.15.08021
M3 - Article
C2 - 27466261
AN - SCOPUS:84984914546
VL - 35
SP - 1957
EP - 1965
JO - Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine
JF - Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine
SN - 0278-4297
IS - 9
ER -