COLA is the nation’s largest private accreditor of clinical laboratories, serving nearly 8,000 labs across the nation through a program of voluntary education, consultation, and accreditation. By serving as an advocate for excellence, quality, and best practices to the labs it serves, COLA also makes an invaluable contribution to improved patient safety.

COLA’s team of industry-leading professionals fulfill that mission by helping clinical labs provide the accurate, reliable, and timely test results doctors need and patients deserve.

COLA professionals are committed to:

Mission Statement

We are a physician-directed organization whose purpose is to promote excellence in laboratory medicine and patient care through a program of voluntary education, consultation, and accreditation.

COLA Values

TEAMWORK
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
INTEGRITY
ENTHUSIASM FOR EXCELLENCE
OWNERSHIP
CUSTOMER FOCUS
“THE GOLDEN RULE”

COLA is certified under the ISO 9001:2015 Quality System standards by the British Standards Institute.

COLA provides equal opportunity to all employees and all applicants for employment without regard to race, color, citizenship status, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, age, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, marital status, U.S. military veteran status, political affiliations or any other characteristic protected by law.