Physicians' Information

The Annual Audits

FMF-Deutschland
General Notes
Licence
Certified Laboratories
The Annual Audits
Procedural Recommendations
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  The audit: The ongoing annual quality assessment
The FMF software must be renewed in time intervals of 12 months. This can either be done through an update, or by means of a certification string or file. Renewal is granted when the FMF-Germany, after reviewing the distribution of measured values and the quality of ultrasound images, considers the results to be satisfactory.
Holders of the Certificate of Competence in nuchal translucency measurement will receive an e-mail some time prior to the expiry of their software, requesting them to send an audit file along with three ultrasound images to the FMF Audit Centre. When these have been received, several assessments will be performed on the audit data set, with the primary focus being on the statistical description of data and on the quality review of ultrasound images. If the audit brings to light considerable deviations, the applicant will be required to attend additional training courses qualifying him for recertification.
Recertification is awarded personally and is not transferable.
When a certified physician has successfully undergone his or her re-audit and is thus eligible for recertification, the Audit Centre will inform the respective software companies accordingly. The latter will then send the required software or certification strings to the certified physician, who will in turn be able to gain access to his or her software for a further twelve-month period. The FMF-Germany will inform the FMF UK as to which physicians have obtained recertification, so that both the internet pages of the FMF-Germany and those of the FMF-UK can be kept up to date.
  If a physician has obtained the Certificate of Competence in nuchal translucency measurement, but prefers risk calculation to be performed by an FMF-certified laboratory, the FMF-certified laboratory conducting the assessment is responsible and under the obligation to provide the respective physician once a year with all the data required for his audit so that the physician can pass the data on to FMF-Germany in order to be re-licensed.
The award of certification places the certification holder under the obligation to participate in the quality assurance measures demanded by the FMF-Germany and to use his or her best efforts to provide the FMF with follow-up data on an ongoing basis.