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SWMC Lab gets A+ on college quiz |
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Monday, 16 June 2008 |
By SHAWN YORKS
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The Southwest Medical Center Laboratory in Liberal underwent the medical business's equivalent of a pop quiz last month. And the result was accreditation by the College of American Pathologists (CAP).
"Overall it went very well," said Lab Manager Gabe Ramirez. "We received only four deficiencies, which require implementation of a policy and submitting a written response to CAP within 30 days."
The lab had one hour's notice that the accreditation examiners were on their way, and Ramirez was quick to commend the lab employees.
"The inspector was very impressed with our record-keeping and information process in our Blood Bank department, which had no deficiencies," Ramirez said.
Ramirez said Boyet Tablate, MT, is the blood bank specialist.
"Another department without any dificiencies and very impressive to the inspector was microbiology with Cliff Pepper, MT, as supervisor of that department."
The lab was called out on 129 deficiencies in 1998, 29 in 2000 and 18 in 2002. The lab had reduced that number to nine in 2006 and four last year, before this year's inspection revealed just one deficiency.
The CAP Laboratory Accreditation program is an internationally recognized program and the only one of its kind that utilizes teams of practicing laboratory professionals as inspectors. It's designed to go well beyond regulatory compliance, and the program helps labs achieve the highest standards of excellence to positively impact patient care.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has granted the CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program deeming authority. It is also recognized by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), and can be used to meet many state certification requirements. The CAP also provides lab accreditation to forensic urine drug testing and reproductive laboratories, co-sponsored with the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM).
The goal of the CAP Lab Accreditation Program is to improve patient safety by advancing the quality of pathology and laboratory services through education, standard setting and ensuring laboratories meet or exceed regulatory requirements. Upon successful completion of the inspection process, the lab is awarded CAP accreditation and becomes part of the exclusive group of more than 6,000 laboratories worldwide that have met the highest standards of excellence.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 17 June 2008 )
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