Accreditations achieved

• ISAS Accreditation (Imaging Service Accreditation Scheme, a joint initiative of Royal College of Radiologists and UKAS)
• Reliable operational processes rigorously tested with many NHS partners (ISO 9001:2008 Certified)
• Thorough information management and security certified by external review (ISO 27001:2005 Certified)
• CQC Registration for Diagnostic and Screening Services Provider No 1-208749742

4 Ways Healthcare's Commitment to Quality Reinforced by ISAS Accreditation

4 Ways Healthcare, the UK's leading teleradiology company has become the first independent organisation to be accredited under the new Imaging Services Accreditation Scheme (ISAS).

The ISAS Standard, jointly developed by The College of Radiographers and The Royal College of Radiologists, is specifically aimed at diagnostic imaging services in both the NHS and the private sector in the UK. The standards which organisations are required to achieve reflect the professional judgements of the expert panels of radiographers, radiologists and patients who have overseen their creation and revision.

The accreditation requires the highest standard and continual improvements of services focussed on four key areas:

• Clinical – to promote the service's role in rapid and accurate diagnosis and treatment.
• Facilities – to ensure that resources are used effectively to provide a safe, efficient, comfortable an accessible service.
• Patient - to ensure that service delivery is patient-focused and respectful of the individual patient and their specific requirements
• Safety – to ensure that services provide the highest level of safety for patients, staff and others who come into contact with the service.

The aspects of 4 Ways Healthcare's service provision which were given the highest praise by the assessors were the rigorous recruitment process, the comprehensive clinical audit process and clinical governance programme.

Each new radiologist recruited by 4 Ways Healthcare reports 30 test cases which are then audited for accuracy; this assessment is conducted regardless of the prior experience of the radiologist. In addition to this initial induction test, all radiologists have 10% of their CT / MRI reports audited by the 4 Ways Healthcare internal audit team on a monthly basis. This level of clinical audit ensures consistent quality across the board which can be evidenced to clients in quarterly reports. Radiologists also receive clinical feedback on their audit results and 4 Ways Healthcare have been able to evidence a continuous improvement in individual audit results over time as a direct result of clinical feedback. This data was presented by 4 Ways Healthcare's Medical Director - Dr Richard Preece at UKRC 2010.

Dr Sanjiv Agarwal, CEO of 4 Ways Healthcare Ltd said of the ISAS accreditation:

I am exceptionally proud in achieving this accreditation and believe it is testament to the hard work and diligence of our team. We have always shown a commitment to achieving the highest quality of radiology reporting; our clinical governance and rigorous recruitment process are central to this commitment. Preparation for the ISAS assessment helped our organisation step back and look at our processes objectively, subjecting them to increased scrutiny. We feel that positive improvements have been made to our internal processes and service provision by taking part in the assessment and aligning our processes and policies with the ISAS standard. Now we have been accredited against the ISAS Standard, we have a high degree of confidence that we will comply with all other regulatory requirements, for example CQC.

Echoing these sentiments, Paul Stennett, Chief Executive, UKAS said:

It gives me great pleasure to present Dr. Agarwal and the staff at 4 Ways with their ISAS certificate. It is a significant achievement which all the staff at 4 Ways can be proud of. I'm aware through assessing the organisation the assessment team commended 4 Ways for their rapid turn-around times, sub-speciality reporting and rigorous quality assurance procedures. This ISAS award demonstrates 4 Ways deliver a patient focused service, using highly trained staff and robust operational processes.

Dr Jane Barrett, President of The Royal College of Radiologists, said:

We congratulate 4 Ways Healthcare on its accreditation by ISAS. We look forward to the accreditation of further departments across the UK, demonstrating the commitment of radiology as a specialty to leading on the highest standards of service provision, a real focus on quality improvement and the core involvement of patients in the accreditation process."