As the clinical laboratory test menu has significantly expanded in volume and complexity, there is a rapidly growing need by clinicians for narrative interpretations of complex studies that resemble those provided in anatomic pathology and radiology. In this report, the impact of advice on laboratory test selection and interpretation is presented with regard to providing adequate quality of car...

Public concern over increasing health-care costs plus dramatized testing errors, has resulted in CLIA '88 with its more stringent rules governing laboratory performance. The purpose of the 1990 U.S. Health Care Financing Administration Final Rules for Proficiency Tests is to separate the quality laboratory from the poorly performing one. From the perspective of total quality management, the cus...

In 1988, Congress passed the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA), thereby extending coverage of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act of 1967 to include quality standards for all laboratory-based testing. The CLIA was enacted to ensure the accuracy, reliability, and timeliness of patient test results, regardless of the location where the tests were performed. This article assesse...

Under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act of 1967 the Health Care Financing Administration's proficiency-testing requirement applies to approximately 12,000 hospital, reference, and large-clinic laboratories in the United States. The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene is approved by the Health Care Financing Administration to provide proficiency testing in all specialties and subspecialt...

Jim KIaassen recently joined Axiom Veterinary Laboratories as a clinical pathologist. During his career, Dr Klaassen has worked in small animal practice, lectured in clinical pathology, undertaken preclinical research and held senior roles in commercial veterinary laboratories in the USA, including as chief medical officer of Antech Diagnostics.