LII:The Comprehensive Guide to Physician Office Laboratory Setup and Operation/Education, staffing, accreditation, and other considerations

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Operation of a physician office laboratory (POL) requires expertise, just like any other laboratory. But how should they be staffed, and what sort of education requirements should the staff have? This chapter addresses those questions and also provides additional resources for staffing a POL.

This sixth chapter on the topic of staffing and education has five sections.

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6. Staffing and Education Requirements

General staffing and education

Subpart M of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) details requirements and responsibilities for laboratory personnel, consultants, supervisors, and directors.[1] The exception to this is a laboratory with a certificate of waiver, where personnel requirements and proficiency testing is not required. However, manufacturers' instructions must still be carefully followed, and only CLIA-waived tests may be performed by the personnel.

For non-waived laboratories, the following resources provide paraphrasing of CLIA Subpart M:

In some cases, state governments apply additional regulations and responsibilities to clinical laboratories and their personnel. According to consultancy Laboratory Start-Up Consultants, the following states have staffing, education, and licensing requirements beyond that of CLIA[2]:

List of certification programs and organizations

American Association of Bioanalysts: The AAB Board of Registry (ABOR) offers five different certifications, including medical technologist (MT) and medical laboratory technician (MLT).

American Medical Technologists: The AMT offers several laboratory-related certifications, including medical technologist (MT) and medical laboratory technician (MLT).

American Society for Clinical Pathology: The ASCP offers four levels of certification, with numerous subcategories in all but the Diplomate Certification. The four main levels are Technician, Technologist, Specialist, and Diplomate.

National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences: The NAACLS offers seven different accreditation programs, including medical laboratory scientist (MLS) and histotechnologist (HTL).

National Commission of Certifying Agencies: The NCCT offers several certifications, including medical assistant (NCMA) and phlebotomy technician (NCPT).

National Healthcareer Association: The NHA offers several certifications, including clinical medical assistant (CCMA) and phlebotomy technician (CPT).

National Phlebotomy Association: The NPA offers a certification for phlebotomists.

List of educational programs

Higher-education

Continuing education

ASCLS Certification Maintenance Membership: The American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS) offers a Certification Maintenance Membership, which provides "12 hours of PACE-approved online continuing education to be completed at any time before the end of the subscription year."

ASCLS Clinical Lab Investigations: The American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS) offers Clinical Lab Investigations, "designed to take you beyond the laboratory test and investigate the causes for abnormal laboratory results." They provide PACE-approved continuing education credit.


List of staffing agencies

References