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About the IAC

The Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) is a national, nonprofit organization in operation to evaluate and accredit diagnostic imaging facilities, thus improving the quality of patient care provided in private offices, clinics and hospitals where such medical tests are provided. There are five divisions within the IAC:

• The Intersocietal Commission for the
  Accreditation of Vascular Laboratories (ICAVL)


• The Intersocietal Commission for the
  Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories (ICAEL)


• The Intersocietal Commission for the
  Accreditation of Nuclear Medicine Laboratories (ICANL)


• The Intersocietal Commission for the
  Accreditation of Magnetic Resonance Laboratories (ICAMRL)


• The Intersocietal Commission for the
  Accreditation of Computed Tomography Laboratories (ICACTL)

Using common goals and methods, each division is structured to provide accreditation within its specific diagnostic medical specialty.

Designed to help laboratories attain the highest possible imaging quality to improve patient care, each of the accreditation programs is composed of two critical steps. The first is an internal self-assessment by laboratory staff. During the accreditation process, applicant laboratories must submit documentation on every aspect of their daily operations, including sample case studies along with their corresponding final reports. While completing the application, laboratories are required to identify and correct potential problems, revising protocols and validating quality assurance programs. The second step in the process is a confidential peer review by members of the medical community. Accreditation is granted only to those facilities that are found to be providing quality patient care, in compliance with the published Standards. Participation in the accreditation process demonstrates the diagnostic imaging facility's clear commitment to the provision of quality care. Laboratories are encouraged to use accreditation as the foundation to create and achieve realistic patient care goals. Because accreditation is renewed every three years, a long term commitment to quality care and self-assessment is developed and maintained.

The information obtained through each of the imaging procedures accredited — noninvasive vascular and echocardiography ultrasound examinations, as well as nuclear cardiology, nuclear medicine, positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance and CT — is extremely helpful to physicians in both diagnosing and managing a variety of life-threatening medical conditions. The reliability of these medical imaging procedures as they relate to the diagnosis of heart disease and stroke has proven particularly vital as we strive for ways to reduce the significant mortality and morbidity that result from these disorders in the United States each year. Payers, administrators, referring physicians and patients can rely on accreditation as an indication that a facility has proven a commitment to providing quality diagnostic imaging.