Legislation to resolve a longstanding issue with respect to CLIA enforcement – specifically, how federal regulators handle labs that mistakenly refer proficiency test samples(PT) to other labs – has moved forward in both houses of Congress. On September 20, H.R. 6118, the Taking Essential Steps for Testing Act (TEST Act), introduced by Rep. Michael Grimm…
COLA Inc., a national laboratory accreditor dedicated to quality in laboratory medicine and patient care, announces the appointment of Mario Motta, MD, to its Board of Directors. Dr. Motta is a board-certified cardiologist from Salem, Massachusetts, and he joins COLA Inc.’s board of prominent professionals appointed by AAFP, ACP, and AMA. In addition to being…
If you’re a student attending or planning to attend college in Maryland and have yet to choose a career path, there are reasons to consider the lab sciences. A number of Maryland schools, including Morgan State University, the Community College of Baltimore County-Essex, and the University of Maryland Baltimore, offer programs and/or financial aid opportunities…
The American Clinical Laboratory Association, of which COLA is an associate member, prepared this document outlining its views about proposals to change the cost sharing structure for Medicare by initiating a patient copay for lab services. _____________________ Clinical Laboratory Cost Sharing – Penny Wise and Pound Foolish One option raised by the Congressional Budget Office…
COLA’s CEO helps it meet its mission with effectiveness and passion.
Our interconnected society makes it vital that our public health professionals get real-time access to diagnostic information for quick identification of the disease and treatment. However, potentially devastating cuts to the Medicare Clinical Lab Fee Schedule from the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) could hurt all laboratories but particularly hard hit will be rural…
Several federal agencies have jointly proposed a rule which would allow patients to have direct access to lab test results, rather than having to go through their physicians. The proposed rule would amend the patient privacy provisions of two federal laws, the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA), and the Health Insurance Portability and…
Under the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA), Congress changed the way Medicare determines rates for the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS), and the implementation of PAMA led to a significant cut for a majority of the routine tests physicians use every day to care for their patients. The physician community has been increasingly concerned…
GiveBack365, a new community initiative and website sponsored by COLA, aims to build public awareness and support of laboratory medicine by encouraging industry partners to “Give Back” and help to enrich the lives of current and future laboratory professionals, 365 days a year. The program provides resources to current and future laboratory professionals while encouraging…
Analysis Tool Helps Clinical Laboratories Assess Costs of Lab Testing
