News Announcements

PLANO (January 24, 2007) -- Legacy Heart Center’s nuclear laboratory has been accredited by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Nuclear Laboratories (ICANL), and its echocardiography lab has been reaccredited by a sister organization, the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories (ICAEL).

The action by ICANL and ICAEL makes Legacy the only private cardiology practice with both a fully certified nuclear lab and a fully certified echocardiography lab located in Collin County.

Both the nuclear and the echocardiography labs are among the first laboratories in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico to be recognized for a “commitment to high quality patient care and diagnostic testing,” according to both ICANL and ICAEL.

The nuclear lab was awarded accreditation in myocardial perfusion imaging, which involves the injection of a tiny amount of a radioactive “tracer” into the bloodstream to assess the risk of heart attack; to evaluate the pumping function of the heart; and to visualize the size and location of a previous heart attack.

The echocardiography lab is accredited for both adult transthoracic and adult stress echocardiography. Cardiac structure and blood flow information provided by echocardiograms is useful in the detection and management of many types of heart disease.

“These accreditations demonstrate our commitment to providing the highest quality cardiovascular care available under one roof in Collin County,” explained David Rawitscher, M.D., F.A.C.C, the Medical Director of Legacy’s nuclear lab.

According to Sarah Samaan, M.D., F.A.C.C., the Medical Director of the echocardiogram lab, the reaccreditation “certifies that we have been reviewed by an independent agency that recognizes our ongoing commitment to quality as a cornerstone of our practice.”

Legacy’s echocardiogram laboratory was originally accredited in 2000 and reaccredited in 2003.

Both ICANL and ICAEL were established to provide a peer review mechanism to encourage and recognize the highest standards of quality for nuclear and echocardiographic diagnostic evaluations by a process of voluntary accreditation. Both ICANL and ICAEL are non-profit organizations dedicated to ensuring quality patient care and promoting health care.

Although accreditation is a voluntary process, beginning in January, Medicare and other providers require that certain cardiac diagnostic tests be performed at accredited facilities to be fully covered.