News

Phelps Memorial Hospital Center Receives a Three-Year Accreditation in Vascular Testing

(August 14, 2012) The Cardiovascular Diagnostic Laboratory at Phelps Memorial Hospital Center has been granted a three-year term of accreditation in arterial testing by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC). According to Kenneth Kaplan, MD, medical director of the Cardiovascular Laboratory, the IAC grants accreditation only to those facilities that, after a thorough review by a panel of experts, are found to be providing quality patient care in compliance with national standards.

In the United States today, cardiovascular diseases (disorders of the heart and blood vessels) are the number one cause of death. According to the American Heart Association, the total direct and indirect cost of cardiovascular disease and stroke in the U.S. for 2010 was an estimated $503.2 billion.

Early detection of many life-threatening disorders is possible through the use of vascular testing procedures performed within hospitals, outpatient centers and physicians’ offices. There are many facets that contribute to an accurate diagnosis based on vascular testing, making it crucial for patients to make sure their procedures are done at accredited facilities.

Anne Nelson, director of cardiovascular services at Phelps, states, “IAC accreditation is a mark of excellence that patients and medical staff can rely on as an indication that the facility has been carefully critiqued on all aspects of its operations considered relevant by medical experts in the field of vascular testing.”