Laboratory Systems & Standards
The Laboratory Systems and Standards Program area falls under the purview of the Laboratory Systems and Standards Committee. The goal of this program is to advance the development and use of comprehensive quality systems and practices for public health laboratories at the local, state, national and international level.
Public Health Laboratory Systems Performance Standards
The goal of the APHL performance standards program is to create a set of performance standards and indicators to enable state public health laboratories to implement a quality system improvement process within their organizations. Outcomes of implementing a quality improvement process include assisting state laboratory directors and leaders in addressing and measuring the overarching essential public health laboratory services, supporting the development of an accreditation process for state public health laboratories and improving the overall public health laboratory system.
Healthy People 2010 Initiative
In 2000, the Healthy People 2010 Plan was released by the Department of Health and Human Services. Within that plan were 467 objectives organized into 28 focus areas. Focus area 23 addressed Public Health Infrastructure and a major section of that focus area encompassed the public health workforce.
Public-Private Laboratory Partnership
The goals of this project are to support voluntary, interdependent partnerships of clinical, environmental, agricultural and veterinary laboratories, through public-private collaboration, for assurance of quality laboratory services and public health surveillance.
CLIA Multi-Site Certificate Project
With support from CDC’s Division of Laboratory Sciences, APHL convened a focus group of state public health laboratories that hold a CLIA multi-site certificate. A multi-site certificate permits not for profit or Federal, state or local government laboratories that engage in limited public health testing to file a single CLIA application. The focus group’s goal was to share best practices and lessons learned, as well as to serve as a resource for other laboratories interested in pursuing a multi-site certificate. The findings from the focus group were recently published in an issue brief.
CLIA Good Laboratory Practice Bench Aid for Urine Dipstick Testing
In response to an MMWR article from November 2005, APHL has created the first of a series of bench aids to help improve the quality of laboratory testing for laboratory testing sites holding a Certificate of Waiver under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988. This bench aid outlines the steps necessary for quality laboratory results when performing urine dipstick testing and maybe downloaded for training staff or review on proper testing techniques.
Core Functions and Capabilities of State Public Health Laboratories
The current Core Functions and Capabilities of State Public Health Laboratories document was written in 1998-1999 by an APHL Task Force and ratified by the APHL membership in 1999.
Accreditation
The recommended model for a voluntary national public health accreditation program was released and endorsed by a steering committee on which APHL had representation. For more information on the model and the Public Health Accreditation Board, created to further develop the public health accreditation program, click here. APHL will continue to track this issue and its potential impact on state and local public health laboratories.
For more information, please contact:
Vanessa White, MPH
Senior Program Manager
Laboratory Systems and Standards
240.485.2758 | vanessa.white@aphl.org