College of American Pathologists (CAP) Laboratory Accreditation Program
Patient safety
The College of American Pathologists, or CAP, "serves and represents the interests of patients, pathologists, and the public
by fostering excellence in the practice of pathology and laboratory medicine." CAP established its laboratory accreditation program
to set high standards for patient and testing services in labs across the United States, including DNA testing labs.
Mission
The goal of the CAP laboratory 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."
Standards of Accreditation
The CAP's accreditation program is an internationally recognized program that is based on the exchange of professional information
and inspection. Multi-disciplinary teams of professionals serve as inspectors, allowing CAP to intensely evaluate many different medical and health providers.
Assessors visit the facilities every 2 years to perform an on-site assessment and evaluate the testing labs against current CAP standards.
For DNA testing laboratories, CAP evaluates the techniques that they use and ensures that they are complying with or exceeding national
regulations. Also, CAP reviews the DNA testing labs' commitment to patient education.
To evaluate laboratories, CAP assessors review several areas, including:
There are over 200 general standards and more than 170 molecular pathology standards, all of which should be met by parentage testing laboratories.
CAP also gives DNA testing labs opportunities to participate in proficiency testing. CAP provides the labs with samples, allows the labs
to run and analyze the samples, and reviews the labs' results. Then CAP evaluates each lab's performance and testing accuracy.
Significance of Accreditation
By evaluating and accrediting DNA testing labs, CAP is ensuring that these organizations are committed to patient care and high laboratory standards. DNA testing laboratories that are CAP accredited are expected to produce high quality test results and excellent patient education.
Resources
For more information on CAP accreditation, click on any of the links below.
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