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Bogdan A. Popescu, Alexandros Stefanidis, Petros Nihoyannopoulos, Kevin F. Fox, Simon Ray, Nuno Cardim, Fausto Rigo, Luigi P. Badano, Alan G. Fraser, Fausto Pinto, Jose Luis Zamorano, Gilbert Habib, Gerald Maurer, Patrizio Lancellotti, Updated standards and processes for accreditation of echocardiographic laboratories from The European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging: an executive summary, European Heart Journal - Cardiovascular Imaging, Volume 15, Issue 11, November 2014, Pages 1188–1193, https://doi.org/10.1093/ehjci/jeu057
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Abstract
Standards for echocardiographic laboratories were proposed by the European Association of Echocardiography (now the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging) 7 years ago, to raise standards of practice and improve the quality of care. Criteria and requirements were published at that time for transthoracic, transoesophageal, and stress echocardiography. This paper reassesses and updates the quality standards to take account of experience and the technical developments of modern echocardiographic practice. It also discusses quality control, the incentives for laboratories to apply for accreditation, the re-accreditation criteria, and the current status and future prospects of the laboratory accreditation process.