Download Free Office Lab Resource

Physicians who provide laboratory services to their patients -- and nearly 90 percent of AAFP's 58,500 Active members do so -- may want to get their hands on some facts about the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, or CLIA, that are available from the Medicare Learning Network.

The recently updated free brochure, (PDF file: 2 pages / 524 KB. More about PDFs.) provides a concise overview of CLIA regulations and guides physicians through details about the various types of lab certificates available, proficiency testing and CLIA enrollment.

Congress passed CLIA in 1988 to establish quality standards for all nonresearch, health-related laboratory testing performed on human specimens. CLIA regulations apply to laboratory testing in all settings, including commercial, hospital and physician office labs.

Check out AAFP Proficiency Testing for additional CLIA resources.