Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) Gainesville’s track record of providing safe and high-quality heart care is being recognized by a national organization. NGMC Gainesville recently achieved Silver Milestone Recognition for 25 years of accreditation in echocardiography from the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC).
“Patients, referring physicians and insurers look for the IAC seal of accreditation as the ‘gold standard’ in the field of echocardiography,” said Vedang Bhavsar, MD, Medical Director of Echo/Vascular and Nuclear Cardiology Imaging for Northeast Georgia Health System. “Research has shown that this accreditation has real benefits to patient care, such as better image quality and more complete reports so that our expert cardiologists can make the best-informed care decisions for their patients.”
Echocardiography, known as “echo” for short, is a common service that uses sound waves from ultrasound imaging tests to create images of the heart. At NGMC Gainesville, it helps the cardiologists of Georgia Heart Institute assess how well parts of the heart are working to pump blood.
Every three-year cycle, IAC-accredited facilities undergo an intensive application and review process to re-earn accreditation, with an assessment conducted by a panel of medical experts. The training and experience of the sonographer performing the procedure, the type of equipment used and the quality assessment metrics each facility is required to measure, all contribute to a positive patient outcome.
To learn more about echocardiography at NGMC Gainesville, go to nghs.com/heart/echocardiogram.
About NGMC
Since 1951, Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) has been on a mission of improving the health of our community in all we do. With hospitals located in Gainesville, Braselton, Winder, Dahlonega and Demorest, the five NGMC campuses have a total of more than 1,000 beds and more than 1,500 medical staff members representing more than 60 specialties. NGMC is part of Northeast Georgia Health System, a non-profit that cares for more than one million people across more than 19 counties. Learn more at nghs.com.
About Georgia Heart Institute
Georgia Heart Institute is the most forward-thinking heart and vascular program in the state and includes one of the largest cardiology practices in the region, including more than 120 clinicians seeing patients at more than a dozen locations. With a multi-disciplinary team of experts treating nearly every type of heart and vascular disease and participating in leading national research, we’re providing advanced care that ensures lasting heart health for generations. Request an appointment and learn more at georgiaheartinstitute.org.
The experts of Georgia Heart Institute also form the core of the cardiac care team at Northeast Georgia Medical Center’s five hospitals in Gainesville, Braselton, Winder, Dahlonega and Demorest. It’s all part of Northeast Georgia Health System, a non-profit which serves more than 1 million people across the region. Learn more at nghs.com.