Call for Proposals for the 2019 IAC Research Award Program
MARCH 1, 2019 | The IAC Research Committee seeks to support innovative and meritorious research relevant to accreditation and quality improvement through its annual IAC Research Award Program. Interested individuals are encouraged to submit proposals that advance the IAC Research Committee’s mission of Strengthening Accreditation Through Research.
Different for 2019, the IAC Research Committee is soliciting proposals specifically investigating the IAC Quality Improvement (QI) Self-Assessment Tool. The IAC will be awarding grants up to a maximum of $75,000. Awards are for one year. This application process initially involves a Letter of Intent, and if accepted, a subsequent full proposal.
View the complete 2019 IAC Research Award Instructions
IAC-Funded Research Study and Lead Investigator Win Top Clinical Research Award at Annual Scientific Session of ASNC
OCTOBER 2017 | Dr. Venkatesh Murthy, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine & Radiology at the University of Michigan, was awarded best clinical abstract for the presentation of his work “Association of Nuclear Cardiology Laboratory Accreditation with Downstream Resource Utilization and Clinical Outcomes” by the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) at its Annual Scientific Session convened September 14-17, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. Dr. Murthy was one of two inaugural award recipients as ASNC bestowed its first ever awards in recognition of top clinical scientific presentations. Dr. Murthy’s award-winning study was supported by an investigator-initiated research grant funded by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC).
Dr. Murthy investigated the association of IAC accreditation with patient-centered outcomes such as downstream catherization, revascularization, death and myocardial infarction. The results showed IAC nuclear cardiology accreditation was associated with lower rates of downstream cardiac catheterization and revascularization within 90 days of imaging as compared to non-IAC accredited facilities. In addition, the study found that among patients not sent for catheterization, IAC accreditation was associated with lower one year mortality and a trend toward fewer myocardial infarctions. These important findings, as well as the quality of the presentation, led the ASNC Abstract Committee to identify “Association of Nuclear Cardiology Laboratory Accreditation with Downstream Resource Utilization and Clinical Outcomes” as one of the top two presentations overall at the 2017 ASNC Scientific Session, which included more than 70 presentations.
IAC Research Officer, Gary V. Heller, MD, PhD, commented, “This is a very critical study which validates the benefit of IAC accreditation in cardiovascular imaging laboratories. This is particularly important for patients who, for the first time, now have evidence that IAC accredited facilities offer better outcomes than those not accredited by the IAC.”
Dr. Murthy reflected, “I am really grateful for the support for this independent study from IAC but I am even more impressed that they were willing to take a risk to find out the answer. This type of introspection is critically important. The data are supportive of the value of IAC accreditation.” “
Association of Nuclear Cardiology Laboratory Accreditation with Downstream Resource Utilization and Clinical Outcomes”, Murthy VL, Lehrich J, Shah RV, Yun HJ, Corbett EP, Ficaro R, et al, J. Nucl Cardiol. 2017; 24:1489 can be accessed online ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28710550.
IAC Announces 2018 Grant Recipients
SEPTEMBER 2017 | The IAC is pleased to announce the following grant recipients for 2018:
- Does Study Comprehensiveness Improve Diagnostic Accuracy and Postnatal Outcomes in Fetuses with Critical Congenital Heart Disease?
Primary Investigators:TeresaTacy, MD, FACC and Sarina Behera, MD, FAAP, FACC, Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital, Sanford School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA - Assessing the Utility of the IAC QI Tool to Assess the Quality of Ultrasound Examinations in a Large Tertiary Care Center: Perspectives of Technologists Versus Interpreting Physicians
Primary Investigator: John Pellerito, MD, FACR, FAIUM, FSRU, Northwell Health System, Manhasset, NY - The Impact of Accreditation on the Outcomes of Treatment in Vein Centers
Primary Investigator:Fedor Lurie, MD, Jobst Vascular Institute
JASE Publishes Manuscript by IAC Echocardiography Board President Merri L. Bremer
OCTOBER 2015 | The Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography (JASE) published a manuscript in it’s October 2015 issue entitled, Relationship of Sonographer Credentialing to Intersocietal Accreditation Commission Echocardiography Case Study Image Quality, written by Merri L. Bremer, RN, ACS, RDCS, EdD. Dr Bremer is the president of the IAC Echocardiography Board of Directors and an accreditation case reviewer. Read the article