ASCP Urges Creation of National COVID-19 Testing Task Force

ASCP-Supported $484 Billion Relief Package Paves Way for More Coherent COVID Testing Strategy

ASCP is calling for the immediate creation of a national COVID-19 testing task force at the federal level. In a letter to President Trump, ASCP President Gene Siegal, MD, PhD, FASCP, thanked him for his vision in laying the foundation for a national strategy, but cautioned that we need stronger coordination between federal and state governments and clinical laboratories, well-coordinated supply chain distribution of personal protective equipment and scarce testing supplies, and support for the laboratory workforce.

ASCP recommended that the task force include expertise from laboratory medicine, logistics specialists, and policymakers at the state and federal levels who can improve the distribution of scarce resources. “The hard work of implementing a coherent national strategy is just beginning,” Dr. Holladay said. "In creating a national pandemic testing task force, we are taking the next crucial, necessary steps for patients." ASCP’s recommendation for a COVID-19 testing task force was also featured in a May 6 Action Alert. We encourage you to use this link to urge policymakers to establish a panel to elevate the role that laboratory experts are playing in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ASCP will work tirelessly with policymakers at the federal and state levels to ensure that the details of the ASCP National Diagnostic Testing and Support Strategy are adopted.


Other articles in the May 2020 ePolicy News:

• New Law Includes Funding for COVID-19 Testing, ASCP Recommendations for Testing Strategy
• AMA Endorses ASCP’s Call for a National Testing Strategy
• Governors, State Health Directors Hear from ASCP BOC about COVID-19 Response
• ASCP, FDA Share Similar Concerns on Antigen Testing
• Hazard Pay, Mental Health Benefits Sought for Pathologists, Laboratory Professionals
• ASCP Interviewed about Job Satisfaction, Well-Being of Pathologists
• CMS Urged to Consider Specialists When Implementing MIPS Value Pathways
• Updated Risk-Based Guidelines Now Published for Management of Abnormal Results in Cervical Cancer Screening and Colposcopy

To read more articles from ePolicy News click here.

For more information regarding ASCP's advocacy initiatives and policy positions, please contact ASCP's Center for Public Policy at (202) 408-1110.

 

 

ASCP ePolicy News is supported by an unrestricted grant from Hologic.