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ASCP Efforts to Support the Fight Against COVID-19

Learn how ASCP is supporting laboratories and patients and how our leaders are sharing their expertise with the public.

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Get equipped to prevent burnout amidst the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic with a free course from the ASCP Leadership Institute. 


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Help ASCP capture and document the vital contributions pathologists and laboratory professionals are making towards patient care during the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Submit your story as a part of our "COVID-19: Medical Diagnostic Team" initiative.


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What ASCP Is Doing

For a full list of ASCP's advocacy on behalf of members and patients, click here.

  • Urging the federal government to create a national pandemic testing task force to increase America’s laboratory testing capacity
    • In a recent letter, ASCP urged President Donald J. Trump to create a national pandemic testing task force to help improve national testing capacity for the coronavirus.  ASCP's advocacy provided support for legislation signed into law the next day by President Donald J. Trump.  This historic, bipartisan coronavirus relief package is a huge victory for laboratories and our workforce, as it sets aside $25 billion for coronavirus testing.  ASCP expects the new law will significantly enhance America’s laboratory testing capacity and will support the laboratory’s central role in stopping COVID-19. The measure, strongly supported by ASCP, includes elements of ASCP’s National Diagnostic Testing Strategy and Support Plan, such as increased coordination and planning on testing priorities and funding for the research, development, and purchase of innovative testing devices and supplies as well as funds to reimburse testing services and provide support for and train the broader laboratory workforce.
  • Disseminating guidance and information specific to laboratories 
    • Information and resources can be found on this website, as well as in the ASCP News posts related to COVID-19 here.
  • Securing regulatory flexibility to allow remote pathology services
    • In response to unrelenting advocacy from ASCP, other laboratory and pathology organizations, the American Medical Association and other medical associations, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced an immediate change in policy regarding the ability of pathologists and laboratory personnel to work remotely without the need for a separate CLIA certificate. Read the CMS memo on the topic here. ASCP urged the Agency to change policy in a March 17 letter, which was supported by a joint ASCP/Association of Pathology Informatics Action Alert that generated more than 10,000 letters to federal policymakers. On March 30, ASCP received clarification that non-physician laboratory professionals may also work remotely. Read more about ASCP’s efforts here.
  • Supporting AABB's COVIDPlasma.org project
    • COVIDPlasma.org was created to educate interested donors, the health care community, and the public on the rapidly evolving therapy of COVID-19 convalescent plasma. In an effort to support the blood community’s work to provide therapeutic options for patients with COVID-19, ASCP has signed on to support this project and help promote public awareness about COVID-19 convalescent plasma.
  • Working to expand COVID-19 testing authority 
    • ASCP has been working to expand the network of clinical laboratories that can test for the COVID-2019. Read ASCP’s letter to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar supporting expanding testing authorization here. Read about ASCP’s efforts here and learn more about our Action Alert on this topic below.
  • Providing you with the opportunity to take action 
    • ASCP deployed three Action Alerts providing members of the profession the opportunity to urge the federal government to allow for remote pathology services, urge policymakers to expand COVID-19 testing capacity, and call for the development of a National COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing and Support Strategy. More information on developments related to each of these efforts can be found above.
  • Supplying a free course to help pathologists and laboratory professionals identify, prevent, and overcome burnout during this challenging time
    • The ASCP Leadership Institute is offering a free course covering the characteristics and symptoms of burnout, as well as coping resources, to equip pathologists and laboratory professionals to prevent burnout while navigating the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more here.
  • Showcasing the behind-the-scenes work that laboratories are doing to care for patients in the ongoing docuseries "Laboratories on the Front Lines: Battling COVID-19"
    • Discover an ongoing series of in-the-moment interviews with members of the medical laboratory team on the front lines of the response to COVID-19 here.
  • Sharing our profound thanks for the medical laboratory team’s unwavering commitment to patients
    • Read a letter from ASCP President Gene P. Siegal, MD, PhD, FASCP, and ASCP CEO E. Blair Holladay, PhD, MASCP, SCT(ASCP)CM, here and watch a video created in collaboration with AstraZeneca below.
  • Supporting patients in the small northern Italian town of Chiari with essential medical supplies via the ASCP Foundation
    • Augusto Pellegrini of the Fondazione Pellegrini Forlivesi, which provides support to the local hospital in Chiari, reached out to ASCP CEO E. Blair Holladay, PhD, MASCP, SCT(ASCP)CM, requesting assistance, as the hospital has seen a surge of patients seeking treatment for COVID-19 from the surrounding communities. Staff from the ASCP Center for Global Health identified U.S.-based suppliers of continuous positive airway pressure masks and were able to procure and export them to Chiari within 6 days time. Learn more on ASCP News here or by watching the video below. An additional 18 masks were sent in a second shipment that was delivered on March 23.

Media Coverage

View media coverage featuring ASCP members and leaders providing insight into the COVID-19 pandemic.

Help Wanted at Covid-19 Testing Labs The Wall Street Journal

The hidden profession saving lives CNBC (video)

Do masks work? Baptist Health scientists put masks to the test Action News Jax

Should we be testing fewer people to stop the spread of Covid-19? Vox

Federal Push For Faster, Cheaper Coronavirus Tests Focuses On 7 New Technologies NPR

Before states rush to lift lockdowns they should consider the dangers that asymptomatic coronavirus carriers could unleash Business Insider

4 critical steps to protect and empower lab professionals MedCity News

National Covid-19 testing plan needs to address cost concerns, experts say Modern Healthcare

Why America’s coronavirus testing problem is still so difficult to solve Vox

Study Raises Questions About False Negatives From Quick COVID-19 Test NPR

Donating Plasma for COVID-19 Patients: Everything You Need to Know Health.com

2 types of testing look for COVID-19 infections new and old Associated Press

What is an Antibody Test? Health.com

Your Guide to Donating Blood During Coronavirus: Who Can Donate, Where to Go, and How Often You Can Help Health.com

Coronavirus Testing Backlogs Continue As Laboratories Struggle To Keep Up With Demand NPR

Faster Coronavirus Testing May Help To Ease Results Backlog NPR

COVID-19 resurgence likely next winter, Cleveland Clinic pathologist says Becker's Hospital Review

"New Study by Cleveland Clinic Doctor Gives Researchers Up Close Look at How the Coronavirus Kills Patients" Cleveland 19 News 

”What Does a False Positive Coronavirus Test Result Mean?” Health.com

"When Will Coronavirus End—And When Will it Peak in the US?" Health.com

“Who Can Get A Coronavirus Test?” HuffPost

“Cough, Fever, Fatigue? Head to CDC's Online Coronavirus Symptom Checker” HealthDay, also featured in  U.S. News & World Report and MedicineNet

“A ‘negative’ coronavirus test result doesn’t always mean you aren’t infected” The Washington Post

“Onsite laboratories cut test result turnaround in Cleveland" The Blade (Toledo, Ohio)

BBC Newshour 3/13/2020 - ASCP Chief Medical Officer Dan A. Milner, Jr., MD, MSc(Epi), FASCP, discusses laboratory testing for COVID-19 - (full BBC Newshour here)

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