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Welcome to the official website of the ICAMRL. Accreditation is a voluntary process, although reimbursement policies have been
enacted throughout the United States by insurance providers that
require ICAMRL Accreditation. This website provides access to
general information, reimbursement policies, the ICAMRL Standards,
and a list of accredited laboratories for the ICAMRL.
Our new address is
6021 University Blvd, Suite 500
Ellicott City, MD 21043
800.838.2110 | phone
800.581.7889 | fax
Read More >>
Special Event: Live Reimbursement Webinar
PAYMENT POLICIES AND ACCREDITATION:
WHAT LABORATORIES NEED TO KNOW TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE
Wednesday, July 15, 2009 at 1pm ET | Register>>
Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 7pm ET | Register>>
Payment policies and an overall concern for quality in diagnostic imaging have heightened interest and incentives for laboratories to earn accreditation. During this free webinar, participants will interact with experts from the IAC to learn about payment policies requiring accreditation and discuss how to ensure their laboratories' compliance. Read more>>
This event is free and open to all!
Special Event: Live ICAMRL Accreditation Webinar!
June 25, 2009 at 5pm EDT
Join us for a live webinar on ICAMRL accreditation, presented by Mary Lally, ICAMRL Technical Manager. An open question and answer session will follow this overview of the ICAMRL accreditation program. This event is free and open to all!
Register for June 25th Webinar >>
Applications Will Now Be Accepted At Any Time
Throughout The Year
JUNE 2009 | In response to customers' express needs, beginning June 1, 2009, laboratories may submit applications at any time via the Online Accreditation application. In the past, laboratories were required to submit applications by the first of January, April, July or October to meet the deadline. Read more >>
Note to all laboratories preparing to submit applications to the ICAMRL
Laboratories submitting applications for accreditation or reaccreditation through the January 1, 2009 deadline may use either Online Accreditation or the previous ICAMRL Application CD. Following the January deadline, all applications must be submitted to the ICAMRL via Online Accreditation.
CHANGE IN POLICY: DELAYED LABORATORIES
The following policy will be applied to all application deadlines occurring after September 1, 2008.
Upon receiving a delayed accreditation decision, the laboratory will:
- have one year to provide the additionally requested documentation demonstrating adherence to the Standards as outlined in the accreditation notification letter
- be permitted to submit one set of delay material to be reviewed by the applicable IAC division, free of charge
- be assessed a $200 review fee if, after providing the additional material, the laboratory still has not demonstrated compliance and further information is required
- have a maximum of only three delay material submissions to demonstrate compliance; if continued non-compliance is documented after review of the three resubmissions, the laboratory will be required to fully reapply for accreditation and undergo a complete application review. (Note: Each testing area in which a lab applies is considered independent and allowed a total of three submissions each.)
- All accreditation fees are non-refundable and will be due at the time of subsequent application submissions.
To learn more, please see Change In Policy: Delay Status, appearing in the Autumn 2008 issue of the IAC newsletter. >>
Accreditation Mandate Included in New Medicare Bill
IAC Commends the U.S. Congress for Passing the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act
JULY 2008 | The U.S. Congress passed and upheld the Patients and Providers Act on July 9th and 15th, 2008. The bill requires that by 2012, providers of advanced diagnostic imaging services, inclusive of Nuclear Medicine, MR, CT, and PET, must obtain accreditation as a condition for reimbursement. In addition, it establishes a two year voluntary program to collect data regarding physician compliance with appropriateness criteria in order to determine the appropriateness of advanced diagnostic imaging services furnished to Medicare beneficiaries.
For details, please read the article on the IAC newsletter. >>
UnitedHealth
Group Extends Deadline
Requiring Magnetic Resonance Accreditation
AUGUST 21, 2008 | FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
UnitedHealth Group (UnitedHealthcare), regarding its announcement
requiring all participating, freestanding imaging facilities
and physician offices performing MR procedures to apply
for accreditation as a condition for reimbursement, has extended its original March
1, 2008 deadline for this requirement until the fourth
quarter of 2009. Read
more >>
To learn more about the UnitedHealthcare announcement:
- Select UnitedHealthcare from the ICAMRL list
of Payment Policies >>
- Visit the Imaging Accreditation section of the UnitedHealthcare
website >>
- Also from UnitedHealthcare, view Imaging
Accreditation: Frequently Asked Questions>>
Anthem
Health Plans of Virginia, Inc. d/b/a Anthem Blue Cross
and Blue Shield and its HMO Affiliates
APRIL 2008 | Anthem Health Plans of
Virginia, Inc. d/b/a Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield
and its HMO Affiliates issued an announcement that
providers that perform or conduct any CT, CTA, MRI,
MRA, MRS, PET and/or Nuclear/Nuclear Cardiology studies shall be accredited by the American College of Radiology
(ACR) or Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) for each piece of equipment utilized in such studies.
For details, visit the ICAMRL list of Payment
Policies. >>
Introducing the 2008 ICAMRL Standards, ready for instant download.
The ICAMRL is pleased to announce the release of the 2008 Standards.
Download today >>
Free webcasts to help your lab!
The ICAMRL has created
a series of webcasts entitled Accreditation On
Demand. Now you can learn about accreditation at your
leisure, 24 hours a day/7 days a week, for FREE. Choose
a topic you wish to learn more about, sit back, and listen.
Learning about the process of accreditation has never
been so easy.
Go
to Accreditation On Demand >>
Webinar on Medicare’s Latest Imaging Policies
Check out this special webinar session, “How Will Medicare’s New Imaging Policies On Accreditation and Appropriateness Affect You?” archived from October 14, 2008. Provided by Philips Healthcare. Watch the webinar >>
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