CAP Advances Quality in Laboratory Medicine and Safeguards Patient Testing With Annual Release of Laboratory Accreditation Program Checklists
NORTHFIELD, Ill.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#Accreditation–With the release of the 2021 edition of the College of American Pathologists’ (CAP) Laboratory Accreditation Program checklists on September 22, 2021, the CAP continues to serve patients and the medical community with stringent requirements laboratories must achieve to comply with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) regulations for laboratory testing.
The CAP deploys inspection teams, made up of pathologists and other laboratory experts, that use the checklists as a tool to monitor laboratory compliance with CMS regulations. The CMS regulates all laboratory testing, except research, performed on humans in the US through the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA). The CAP is a CMS-approved accreditation organization with deeming authority to inspect laboratories under CLIA.
“CAP members and affiliated experts scrutinize the checklists annually, working to integrate advancements in medicine, technology, and laboratory management,” said Richard Scanlan, MD, FCAP, chair, CAP Council on Accreditation, which oversees the accreditation program. “For 75 years, the CAP has committed itself to providing programs for laboratories to achieve the highest standards for accurate patient testing.”
Upon completion of a successful inspection, the CAP awards accreditation to the laboratory, which will then have to seek re-accreditation two years later. The CAP accredits nearly 8,000 laboratories in the US and 70 other countries.
“Although accreditation may not be required outside the US, the CAP’s program is internationally recognized as superior,” Dr. Scanlan said. “Our inspection teams, although there to inspect, also educate as we are practicing laboratory professionals sharing and exchanging knowledge with peers in laboratories across the US and globe.”
The 2021 edition includes 21 discipline-specific checklists with approximately 3,000 requirements. The CAP made some of the most significant changes in the following checklists: Anatomic Pathology, Cytopathology, Laboratory General, All Common, Molecular Pathology, Microbiology, and Transfusion Medicine.
The CAP will host a webinar, “2021 CAP Accreditation Checklist Updates: Changes that Matter,” for laboratory professionals to review the updates. Harris Goodman, MD, FCAP, chair, CAP Checklists Committee, and Stephen Sarewitz, MD, FCAP, vice chair, will provide the details.
About the College of American Pathologists
As the world’s largest organization of board-certified pathologists and leading provider of laboratory accreditation and proficiency testing programs, the College of American Pathologists (CAP) serves patients, pathologists, and the public by fostering and advocating excellence in the practice of pathology and laboratory medicine worldwide. As a 501(c)(6) membership organization, the CAP is the only entity representing pathologists with unrestricted advocacy capability and a political action committee, PathPAC. For more information, visit yourpathologist.org to watch pathologists at work and see the stories of the patients who trust them with their care. Read the CAP Annual Report.
Contacts
Contact: Joe Schramm
Phone: 800-323-4040, ext. 7445
Email: [email protected]
