A retrospective review of postapproval monitoring at a large academic institution.

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs) are federally mandated to ensure the welfare of animals used in research, testing and teaching. An IACUC must oversee institutional animal care and use programs and promote compliance with all regulations and policies. Postapproval monitoring (PAM) is one administrative tool that an IACUC can implement to help fulfill its federal and societal responsibility. Here, the authors describe the PAM program at a large academic institution, considering the program's accomplishments and how the program has changed since its inception. The authors also provide a retrospective analysis of compliance records during the first 10 y of the program, which demonstrate improved compliance following initiation of PAM.