REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS (CLIA-88, JCAHO, CAP) FOR DECENTRALIZED TESTING

All decentralized testing is regulated according to the Clinical Labor atory Improvement Amendments of 1988. Two organizations, the Joint Com mission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations and the College of American Pathologists, have received deemed status for their volunt ary standards from the Health Care Financing Administration. Deemed st atus means that the organizations' voluntary standards meet or exceed the federal requirements. The decentralized testing sites can exercise several options in determining which organization, and hence which se t of standards, will be used to regulate their testing processes. In t his article, the authors outline the various regulatory requirements, provide insight into the relationship of each, and offer a framework f or decentralized testing sites to follow to meet the requirements.