The Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) Echocardiography accredits more than 2,800 healthcare facilities in the U.S. and Canada, and UVA Health is one of only two providers in Virginia to earn the milestone award.
UVA Health is also among just 46 facilities in the U.S. recognized for its longstanding commitment to excellent heart imaging with echocardiograms.
“Accreditation from the IAC highlights our ongoing commitment to quality improvement and evidence-based care,” Dr. Jamieson Bourque, a UVA Health cardiologist and director of UVA’s Echocardiography Laboratory, said. “I want to thank all the members of our echocardiography team for their hard, sustained work to produce excellent imaging that is invaluable for us to provide the best care for our patients.”
UVA Health offers three types of echocardiography:
- Transthoracic echocardiography:This test produces images from an ultrasound probe placed on the chest wall to look for abnormalities in the heart’s physical structures, including the chambers and valves.
- Stress echocardiography: Compares images from a patient’s heart at rest to their heart immediately after exercising.
- Transesophageal echocardiography: Uses ultrasound images from within the esophagus directly behind the heart to evaluate the heart structure and valves in high detail.
Studies show that IAC accreditation reflects better quality care for patients.
“The UVA Heart & Vascular Center is pleased to provide this high-quality cardiovascular imaging to its patients,” Bourque said.