EACVI Laboratory Accreditation in Echocardiography

Accreditation

Eligibility

To be eligible, echocardiography laboratories must meet the following requirements:

• The laboratory must have been established for at least 3 years.
• The head, lead, or a senior member of the laboratory must hold a valid EACVI certification, or a mutually recognised* individual certification in the modalities applied for (except for SE).

*The EACVI has established reciprocity agreements for individual certification with the following societies:

• For TTE:
  • British Society of Echocardiography
  • Austrian Working Group of Echocardiography
  • Working group on echocardiography and imaging modalities in cardiology, Croatian Cardiac Society
• For TOE:
  • British Society of Echocardiography

Only the individual certifications from the societies listed above are accepted for accreditation.

If your laboratory does not have a clinical head and/or technical head of department, you can still apply for accreditation. The application forms are designed to accommodate this situation. In this case, you must provide the name of the person administratively in charge of the department or the person responsible for completing the application forms and ensuring their accuracy.

There are no restrictions on the type of centre (private, university laboratory, etc.) or the country. Institutions from anywhere in the world can apply, as long as they meet the two eligibility requirements mentioned above.

Modalities and levels

Three modalities are available:

• Adult Transthoracic Echocardiography (TTE) – mandatory
• Adult Transoesophageal Echocardiography (TOE) – optional
• Stress Echo (SE) – optional

For each modality, there are two levels of accreditation:

• Standard accreditation: Ensures basic laboratory standards for providing optimal clinical service.
• Advanced accreditation: Aimed at a smaller number of advanced laboratories in each country. In addition to meeting standard criteria, these laboratories may also offer extensive teaching, research, and cover all modalities.

General rules

Modalities

• The TTE modality is mandatory to apply for any other modality or modalities.
• Accreditation in TOE and SE cannot be awarded if TTE is not successful. However, accreditation in TTE may be awarded even if TOE and SE are not successful.

Levels

• To be eligible for advanced accreditation in TTE, the head(s) of the laboratory must be individually certified in TTE by EACVI or a mutually recognised organisation (please refer to the eligibility rules above).
• Applying for advanced accreditation does not guarantee receiving this level. If your laboratory does not meet the requirements for advanced accreditation, it may be awarded the standard level.
• An upgrade to a higher level can only occur during reaccreditation.

Compliance

• EACVI Committee Members may visit any accredited laboratory to conduct an on-site inspection and verification.

Language of submission

The application must be submitted in English.

The documents attached to the application must be the original versions (e.g., patient information leaflets, standard procedure documents, etc.). If these original documents are not in English, they must be accompanied by English translations.
Please note that the English translation does not need to be officially certified, but it must be clear and understandable. The laboratory is responsible for providing the translation. The original document must match the translation. If there are any discrepancies, we reserve the right to decline the application.

Applying for accreditation

Process

EACVI laboratory accreditation applications must be submitted online and can be made at any time during the year. The overall process is expected to take no more than 12 months. If the laboratory does not respond or make payment by the deadline, accreditation will not be granted, and the full accreditation fee will need to be paid again.

Registration

• The head of the laboratory must complete the accreditation registration form. The head may either be the contact person or nominate another staff member to handle all correspondence throughout the process.
• The completed registration form must be sent along with the relevant individual certificates (based on the selected modalities) to the contact us. 
• The ESC accreditation team will confirm receipt of your registration and provide instructions on how to access the EACVI laboratory accreditation online platform and relevant forms.

Payment

The laboratory must proceed with the payment of the accreditation fee, following the instructions provided by the ESC accreditation team.

Application submission

• Completing the application may take 6 to 8 weeks, as you might need assistance from your hospital administration or time to translate your documents. 
• All forms and related documents must be submitted together through the EACVI Laboratory Accreditation online platform. 

Application review

• Your application will first be reviewed administratively by the ESC Accreditation Team. If anything is missing, the laboratory will be contacted to provide the necessary information.
• If the application is complete, it will be sent to the relevant National Society representative for review, followed by two graders from the EACVI Laboratory Accreditation sub-committee.
• Additional information or clarifications may be requested from the laboratory at any time of the process. 
• The review process can take up to 2 months. It may take longer if further information is needed or if there is a high volume of applications.

Result

There are 3 possible outcomes:

• Pass: Accreditation granted for all requested modalities and levels, with or without recommendations.
• Pass (partially): Accreditation granted for some modalities or downgraded levels, with recommendations.
• Fail: Accreditation not granted, with recommendations for improvements. The laboratory can reapply once the recommendations are met

If successful, you will receive an electronic accreditation certificate, and your laboratory will be listed as an EACVI-accredited laboratory on the ESC website.

Please note: Laboratories that receive accreditation may be randomly selected for a visit by the EACVI laboratory accreditation sub-committee to verify the information provided in their submitted documents.

Fee

The accreditation fee is due upon submission of the application and is non-refundable.

Validity

The EACVI laboratory accreditation in echocardiography is valid for 5 years after which the laboratory must apply for re-accreditation to keep the accreditation valid. 

Please note:

• Any major changes in the laboratory's organization must be reported to the ESC Accreditation Team within 30 days (e.g., if the laboratory relocates, if the head of the department changes, or if a site is removed). Be sure to include your ID reference number in the subject line of the message. 
  There is no need to report changes in medical or technical staff or equipment, as these will be addressed during the re-accreditation process.
  Failure to report these changes could result in the loss or revocation of accreditation.

Multiple-site accreditation

If two or more laboratories belong to the same legal entity (trust), the trust may apply for accreditation for part of its sites or for all of its sites. 

Requirements

The trust will be requested to provide a letter that includes:  

• the list of all sites involved in the accreditation
• the modality/ies each site is applying for
• the contact person at each site
• the details of how the sites may potentially interact with each other (e.g., sharing staff, transferring patients between sites, etc.). 

This letter must be written on letterhead paper and manually or electronically signed by the responsible person (no typed signature). 

The trust will have to provide an accreditation application for every site, with the documentation corresponding to the modality/ies the site is applying for. Every site needs to comply with the accreditation criteria. 

The review process for each application remains the same as described above. 

At the end of the process, the trust will receive a letter indicating the accreditation modalities granted to each site and an accreditation certificate for each site. 

Process

A multi-site accreditation request follows the same process and must meet the same criteria required for the accreditation of a single laboratory, and therefore must comply with all the rules mentioned above.

Multi-site accreditation fees

The trust can benefit from a specific fee for a multi-site accreditation request. 

A 20% discount will be applied to the total amount that all sites have to pay.

Example: if the accreditation includes 4 sites:

Reaccreditation

The EACVI laboratory accreditation in echocardiography is valid for 5 years after which the laboratory must apply for re-accreditation to keep the accreditation valid. 

The eligibility criteria, general rules, and submission language remain the same as for accreditation, as described earlier on this page in the accreditation section.

When to apply?

Laboratories must apply for reaccreditation from six months before to six months after the current accreditation expiration date.

It is the laboratory's responsibility to ensure that the reaccreditation is submitted on time. Late submissions will not be accepted. If the deadline is missed, the laboratory will have to repeat the accreditation process to be reaccredited. 

If all reaccreditation requirements are met, a certificate will be issued which will be valid for a further 5-year period.

Reaccreditation options

Reaccreditation for the same modalities and levels

If the laboratory wishes to reaccredit with the same modalities and levels, only an update compared to the previous accreditation is required.

Reaccreditation with additional modalities and/or at different levels

This applies to laboratories that wish to:

• Upgrade the level of their modality/ies from standard to advanced. In this case, additional documents will be required from the laboratory.
• Add new modality/ies. These will follow the full accreditation process and incur the relevant accreditation fees. 
• Cancel the TOE modality if no one in the laboratory holds a TOE individual certification anymore.

Applying for reaccreditation

Process

EACVI laboratory reaccreditation applications must be submitted online and must be requested from six months before to 6 months after the current accreditation expiration date. If the laboratory does not respond or make payment by the deadline, reaccreditation will not be granted, and the full reaccreditation fee will need to be paid again.

Registration

• The head of the laboratory must complete the reaccreditation registration form. The head may either be the contact person or nominate another staff member to handle all correspondence throughout the process.
• The completed registration form must be sent along with the relevant individual certificates (based on the selected modalities) to the contact us. 
• The ESC accreditation team will confirm receipt of your registration and provide instructions on how to access the EACVI laboratory accreditation online platform and relevant forms.

Payment

The laboratory must proceed with the payment of the reaccreditation fee, following the instructions provided by the ESC accreditation team.

Application submission

• All forms and related documents must be submitted together through the EACVI Laboratory Accreditation online platform. 
• Modality/ies accredited at the standard level can be upgraded to the advanced level. In this case, additional documents will be required. 
• Additional modality/ies can be added. In this case, the new modality/ies will follow the full accreditation process as described above and associated fees. 

Application review

• Your application will first be reviewed administratively by the ESC Accreditation Team. If the application is incomplete, the laboratory will be contacted and asked to provide the missing information.
• If your application is complete and depending on the reaccreditation options selected:
  1. Application for the same modalities and levels or upgraded levels: the application will be sent for review to one grader from the EACVI Laboratory Accreditation sub-committee.
  2. Application with additional modalities: the application will be sent to the relevant National Society representative for review, followed by two graders from the EACVI Laboratory Accreditation sub-committee.
• Additional information or clarifications may be requested from the laboratory at any time of the process. 
• The review process can take up to 2 months. It may take longer if further information is needed or if there is a high volume of applications.

Result

There are 3 possible outcomes:

• Pass: Accreditation granted for all requested modalities and levels, with or without recommendations.
• Pass (partially): Accreditation granted for some modalities or downgraded levels, with recommendations.
• Fail: Accreditation not granted, with recommendations for improvements. The laboratory can reapply once the recommendations are met

If successful, you will receive an electronic accreditation certificate, and your laboratory will be listed as an EACVI-accredited laboratory on the ESC website.

Please note: Laboratories that receive accreditation may be randomly selected for a visit by the EACVI laboratory accreditation sub-committee to verify the information provided in their submitted documents.

Fee

The reaccreditation fee is due upon submission of the application and is non-refundable.

If additional modality/ies are added, the accreditation fee for these will be added to the reaccreditation fee.

Validity

The EACVI laboratory reaccreditation in echocardiography is valid for 5 years after which the laboratory must apply for re-accreditation to keep the accreditation valid. 

Laboratories accredited by EACVI

The EACVI laboratory accreditation in echocardiography is valid for 5 years after which the laboratory must apply for re-accreditation to keep the accreditation valid. 

The EACVI is pleased to list all their laboratories accredited in Echocardiography.