AAFP-PT Orders for 2022 Now Being Accepted

So, if you’re one of the majority of family physicians who have chosen to streamline the care you offer patients by performing many of your own laboratory tests using AAFP Proficiency Testing, you should know that you can now access the program’s 2022 specimen catalog and lab order forms.

A comprehensive CMS/CLIA-approved program that caters to the unique needs of individual physician office labs, AAFP-PT provides externally procured unknown test samples that enable those labs to objectively assess the accuracy of their staff and equipment.

Physicians enrolled in AAFP-PT receive three shipments of clinically relevant specimens per year. But take note: Although the program accepts enrollments throughout the year, physicians need to complete the enrollment and ordering process by Nov. 1 to guarantee specimen availability in 2022. Demand for SARS-CoV2 proficiency specimens, in particular, remains high and early enrollment is critical to ensure availability.

In addition, subject to availability, proficiency testing specimens may also be ordered throughout the year using the off-schedule testing order form.

Here are some of the other benefits of enrolling in the AAFP-PT program:

• access to an extensive list of specimens appropriate for testing in waived and high-complexity labs;
• COLA member laboratories pay no annual registration fee;
• orders that encompass three or more lab locations receive a 10% discount;
• free handbook binder cover, spine inserts and tabs to help organize program materials;
• automatic email confirmation when test results have been received;
• emailed evaluation report;
• emailed reminders of important approaching deadlines;
• laboratorians receive American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science Professional Acknowledgment for Continuing Education (P.A.C.E.) credits;
• convenient customer service is available through PT Central, via email or by phone; and
• around-the-clock online access to current enrollment status, evaluations and forms through a dedicated PT Central portal.

Consult the AAFP-PT Handbook for a comprehensive overview of the program, including details about the ordering process, testing kit information, instructions for reporting test results, evaluation information, continuing education specifics and more. An FAQ webpage provides answers to a variety of questions, as well.

Plus, the Physician’s Office Laboratory Microscopy Atlas, now in its fourth edition, serves as a handy training tool, continuing education resource and bench-top reference. The atlas features more than 150 photos of cellular elements, with a matching description and clinical associations for each.

Finally, the program is again including a particularly timely offering for 2022, because although many experts agree that the nation appears to have turned the corner in combating COVID-19, it’s too early to declare the pandemic over. In the interest of continuing to track the disease, AAFP-PT offers three distinct SARS-CoV2 proficiency tests to help meet that need. Those tests are

• SARS-CoV2 Viral Detection (for molecular methods),
• SARS-CoV2 Antigen Detection and
• SARS-CoV2 Serology Antibody Detection.

Don’t miss the opportunity to leverage the AAFP-PT program’s 25-plus years of laboratory experience; enroll by Nov. 1 to lock in your lab testing specimen choices for 2022.