It has been brought to my attention that there is an URGENT matter (or in lab language...STAT!) related to laboratory testing in our state. Right now, there is a bill being debated in the ND Legislature, related to who can perform laboratory testing. The wording proposed would allow anyone to perform waived testing anywhere, without supervision.
Please read the attached letter ("Bill 2202") prepared by ASCLS-ND Past-President Alice Hawley, which describes the situation AND provides you an opportunity to become involved in making sure this dangerous legislation is not passed. Please read it immediately, as action is needed as soon as tomorrow. This is a great opportunity to have a Voice in shaping our profession - thank you in advance for any and all attention to this matter!
For all those who plan on attending the annual meeting, this is important. Click here to get a secret code that can be used to save an additional $25 off of registration. The code will be available until March 30th. Early bird registration opens April 1st.
Don't miss out on this opportunity to advocate on behalf of your profession and interact with your local representative. The 2017 Legislative Symposium is scheduled for March 20-21st in Alexandria, VA. Early bird registration ends February 20th.
On September 27th, 2016, representatives from the Board of Certification (BOC), American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), and American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS) met with officials from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to discuss the recent regulatory change which would allow nurses with a bachelor's degree to perform high-complexity laboratory testing.
In this meeting, CMS representatives explained the reasoning behind the policy change. They stated that the change was made in the effort of addressing the shortage of qualified laboratory professionals to work in physician office laboratories in rural areas. ASCLS and its partners then countered this argument with their own argument related to the risks to patient safety that this policy change may pose.
CMS representatives acknowledged the concerns ASCLS and its partners brought forward and stated that they would be looking into a policy change that serves the best interests of patients everywhere.
Over 35,000 individuals signed the petition that was presented to CMS at this meeting. Thank you to everyone who signed the petition and helped spread the word about this important issue. The BOC, ASCP, and ASCLS will continue to advocate on behalf of our profession and the patients that we care for.
ASCLS, in conjunction with our partners on the Board of Certification, urge the laboratory community and other interested individuals to Sign the Petition urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to reconsider its position that nursing is a biological science for purposes of performing laboratory testing.
On April 1, CMS announced that “an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in nursing is equivalent to an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, respectively, in biological science”—seemingly declaring that individuals with a nursing degree are potentially as qualified to perform advanced testing as certified laboratory professionals. It also appears that CMS’s position could allow individuals with as little as a bachelor’s degree in nursing to direct a CLIA moderate complexity laboratory and/or serve in senior supervisory roles within a CLIA high complexity laboratory. Since the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) of 1988 doesn’t specifically require clinical training of individuals with a degree in biological sciences, CMS’s new policy exempts individuals with a bachelor’s degree in nursing from any specific training requirement prior to performing high complexity testing for diagnostic purposes.
We have great respect for the work and invaluable services nurses provide patients, but we do not agree that the nursing degree is equivalent to a biological sciences degree or that it would adequately prepare someone to perform non-waived laboratory services.
Our greatest concern is this policy will negatively affect test quality and patient outcomes as well as effect access to quality testing services. Take a few minutes to Sign the Petition to tell CMS that you believe a degree in nursing is not the same thing as a degree in the biological sciences and that appropriate academic coursework and clinical training/experience are need to provide quality testing services.