By Anu S. Maharjan, PhD, DABCC
For many, the word “compliance” conjures up images of legal battles and stringent rules. In the field of laboratory medicine, it encompasses not only analytical accuracy but also adherence to operating procedures. The complexity of navigating rules and regulations from various regulatory bodies such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the College of American Pathologists (CAP), the Joint Commission, public health entities, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) adds further layers of challenges to laboratory implementation and oversight.
In this afternoon’s session, “The compliance detective: Finding errors before they become issues,” Scott Isbell, PhD, DABCC, FADLM, and Robin Chamberland, PhD, ABMM, have taken on the daunting task of showing ADLM 2025 attendees how to proactively identify potential issues before they become problems.
Isbell, medical director for laboratory medicine in St. Louis University, is planning to have a “novel, interactive, fun, practical” presentation. Chamberland, director SSM St. Louis Network Microbiology at St. Louis University, will bring a different perspective, viewing compliance from the microbiology angle.
During this session, the presenters will divide attendees into roundtable groups presented with various scenarios relevant to clinical laboratories. Each table will be given approximately 20 minutes to identify the relevant compliance issues and develop a plan to address them. The groups will take handwritten notes to summarize their table’s response, and tables will be selected at random to share their thoughts.
In addition, the groups will be provided with case materials to support their assessment and plan. The exercise will foster collaboration by bringing together diverse perspectives and encouraging participants to share their thought processes as a team.
For laboratorians, laboratory management is one of the big pillars that come with the job. Cultivating an understanding of compliance issues improves overall risk and quality management. This interactive session will emphasize the importance of maintaining a robust compliance framework within a laboratory or institution.
We can anticipate that attendees will bring their real-world stories when different compliance issues are discussed. It will be interesting to see how attendees from different fields explore various risk-mitigation strategies when discussing some of the compliance issues that will be brought to the table. Overall, the collaborative format promises to foster key areas for improvement and practical strategies to ensure adherence to regulations.
