Accreditation of cardiovascular excellence offers outcomes based on multispecialty accreditation for endovascular procedures

Abstract

The Accreditation of Cardiovascular Excellence (ACE) is an independent, not-for-profit, multispecialty effort to ensure the highest quality patient care by providing oversight and guidance for invasive diagnostic and therapeutic interventional procedures and procedure facilities. ACE's uniform accreditation process facilitates the objective peer review of outcomes, adherence to standards, appropriate use of either treatment or invasive diagnostic testing, and best practices based on national outcomes data. It provides access to tools and action plans to address any areas of deficiency. ACE began accepting online applications at www.cvexcel.org in 2010 for facilities performing carotid artery stenting. It is currently expanding its offerings to include other cardiovascular procedures, such as cardiac catheterization, percutaneous coronary intervention, non-carotid endovascular procedures, and structural heart disease intervention. ACE's standardized, unbiased process certifies to patients, physicians, families, insurers, the state, and federal agencies that regulate the delivery and reimbursement of healthcare that ACE-accredited facilities provide the highest quality of cardiovascular care. © Touch Briefings 2011.