The College of American Pathologists (CAP) Laboratory Accreditation Program has released the 2014 edition of checklists that are used in the accreditation inspection process to help laboratories meet Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requirements. The CAP accredits more than 7,600 medical laboratories in 50 countries.
CAP inspection teams use the checklists as a guide to assess a laboratory’s overall management and operation. The CAP’s physician experts annually review the checklists to ensure that they are current and relevant to the practice of laboratory medicine. In the 2014 edition, the CAP made modifications to all of its 21 checklists. The greatest number of changes were made in Laboratory General, Anatomic Pathology, Clinical Biochemical Genetics, and Point-of-Care Testing. Examples of other checklists include: Chemistry and Toxicology; Hematology and Coagulation; Immunology; Microbiology; Molecular Pathology; Transfusion Medicine; and Urinalysis.
The CAP’s program is internationally recognized and utilizes teams of practicing laboratory professionals as inspectors. Designed to go well beyond regulatory compliance, the program helps laboratories achieve the highest standards of excellence to positively impact patient care.
Gerald Hoeltge, MD, FCAP, chairs the CAP Checklist Committee, managing the extensive, annual scientific review with hundreds of experts across many medical laboratory disciplines. The committee focuses all year on enhancing the checklists, in collaboration with laboratory medicine colleagues, to maintain program stringency and the highest standards of patient care. “The program serves as a quality practices blueprint for laboratories to ensure patient safety and deliver accurate and reliable laboratory test results,” Dr. Hoeltge says. Learn more about services offered by the CAP.
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