Lessons learned from the review of cardiac catheterization laboratories: Areport from the Laboratory Survey Committee of the Society for Cardiac Angiography and Interventions

The Laboratory Survey Committee of the Society for Cardiac Angiography and Interventions was created as a resource for physicians and administrators t o provide comprehensive independent outside review services for cardiac cat heterization laboratories. Since 1989, when the committee began its work, s urveys of 23 catheterization laboratories have been completed. Our review o f this experience identified several recurring problems among the laborator ies. The purpose of this paper is to summarize our experience and highlight the lessons we learned in the hope that this information will benefit many other laboratories. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.