CLINICAL LABORATORY IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1988 - BACKGROUND AND IMPACT ON ANATOMIC LABORATORIES

The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act of 1988 was intended to improv e the quality of medical laboratories. It includes education requireme nts for personnel involved in ''high complexity testing'' who serve th e anatomic pathology lab. Many surgical pathology labs rely on histote chnologists and histotechnicians to gross surgical specimens, a time c onsuming activity. This has helped to expedite turnaround time and has proven cost-effective. CLIA '88 could change this practice and cause a shortage of qualified laboratory personnel. This report examines the background and possible impact of CLIA '88.