CMS Grants CAP Reapproval As An Accreditation Organization

NORTHFIELD, Ill., April 2, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reapproved the College of American Pathologists (CAP) as an accreditation organization for clinical laboratories. The CMS determined that the CAP met or exceeded the applicable Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) requirements in its reapproval application, as reported late last week in the Federal Register.

The CAP, the leading organization of board-certified pathologists, currently accredits more than 7,600 clinical laboratories as part of its Laboratory Accreditation Program, launched in the early 1960s. Under CLIA, the CMS began granting deeming authority to accrediting organizations in 1994, and the CAP has always won renewals for the maximum allowable six years.

"We have the premier accreditation program because of the thousands of dedicated laboratory professionals and CAP members who volunteer to participate in the peer-based, educational inspection process designed to continuously improve laboratories," said CAP President Gene N. Herbek, MD, FCAP, laboratory medical director at the Nebraska Methodist Women's Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. "The CAP accreditation program remains focused on our mission and is why we exist as a professional membership organization."

The CAP's peer-based inspection model uses teams of practicing professionals to lead on-site inspections every two years using CAP Accreditation Checklists, covering the comprehensive array of disciplines and testing procedures, to assess compliance with program requirements.

"We devote ourselves to our accreditation program for better patient care, as described many years ago by early CAP accreditation leaders," said CAP Chief Executive Officer Charles Roussel. "This dedication to patients resonates today with the CAP vision that people are healthier because of excellence in the practice of pathology and laboratory medicine."

CAP teams inspect a variety of laboratory settings from complex university medical centers to physician office laboratories. The accreditation program is designed to help laboratories:

• Meet CLIA regulatory requirements (specific to laboratories subject to US regulations);
• Ensure compliance through the guidance of the most comprehensive scientifically endorsed laboratory standards; and
• Maintain accuracy of test results and ensure accurate patient diagnosis.

About the College of American Pathologists
As the leading organization with more than 18,000 board-certified pathologists, 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. The CAP's Laboratory Improvement Programs, initiated 65 years ago, currently has customers in more than 100 countries, accrediting 7,600 laboratories and providing proficiency testing to 20,000 laboratories worldwide. Find more information about the CAP at cap.org. Follow CAP on Twitter: @pathologists.

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SOURCE College of American Pathologists

Related Links

http://www.cap.org

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