The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) statute revised the federal program for certification and oversight of clinical laboratory testing to ensure accurate, reliable and timely diagnostic test results, no matter where testing is performed. The final CLIA regulations were issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in 1992, subsequently amended, establishing quality standards for laboratory testing performed on human clinical specimens, for the purpose of diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of disease, or assessment of health.