As health departments, AIDS service organizations, pharmacies and other entities prepare to take part in National HIV Testing Day on June 27, COLA is offering guidelines for personnel administering “waived” HIV tests. Waived lab tests are simple tests performed at the point-of-care and are exempted from most federal oversight. Thousands of health facilities, substance abuse…
COLA has been recertified as meeting high “Quality Management System” standards established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 9001:2008), an international-standard-setting body composed of representatives from various standards organizations. COLA’s recertification, which comes from ISO registrar British Standards Institute (BSI) under certificate number FS 564214, covers COLA’s delivery and administration of its CLIA-equivalent accreditation…
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has renewed COLA’s deeming authority for another six years under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA 88). COLA is a private, non-profit laboratory accreditation organization accrediting clinical laboratories nationwide. Six years is the maximum period an accrediting organization can be given deeming authority before its…
On May 18, 2020, COLA published the latest version of their Laboratory Accreditation Manual. COLA laboratories and COLA surveyors apply the criteria in the Laboratory Accreditation Manual to assess compliance. COLA accredits laboratories that are in compliance with the COLA criteria and these laboratories are recognized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)…
ACOs and PCMH: What Do They Mean For Your Lab?
A Time of Uncertainty in Washington
By COLA CEO Douglas Beigel The Healthcare System’s Perfect Storm You hear the term “perfect storm” a lot. It typically means that a unique alignment of circumstances has occurred, one which has the potential to produce major changes in an existing status quo. The nation’s healthcare system – and with it, the clinical laboratory community…
Growing the Laboratory Workforce Is Our Responsibility
Last week, laboratory accreditor COLA presented seven $500 scholarships to students from Morgan State University (MSU) and the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) during a major symposium which drew medical professionals from across the U.S. The organization also honored workers from a Joplin, MO lab for their heroic efforts to provide vital lab testing…
