ePolicy News May 2020

Publication Date: May 12, 2020

Find a list of the stories in the May 2020 edition of ePolicy News below.

New Law Includes Funding for COVID-19 Testing, ASCP Recommendations for Testing Strategy
The legislation that President Trump signed into law on April 30 provides $25 billion for COVID-19 testing—including a number of recommendations from ASCP—and $484 billion to support the Paycheck Protection Program. The law requires the Administration to report to Congress on its strategy to strengthen laboratory test capacity for COVID-19. Read More

ASCP Urges Creation of National COVID-19 Testing Task Force
ASCP has called for the federal government to create a national COVID-19 testing task force that would include expertise from laboratory medicine, logistics specialists, and policymakers at the state and federal levels who can improve the distribution of scarce resources. Read More

AMA Endorses ASCP's Call for a National Testing Strategy
On April 27, the American Medical Association urged the Trump Administration to develop a national testing strategy much like ASCP's recent recommendation, encouraging the federal government to exert stronger leadership to help clinical laboratories acquire testing components that are in short supply. Read More

Governors, State Health Directors Hear from ASCP BOC about COVID-19 Response
The ASCP Board of Certification Board of Governors last week wrote all 50 U.S. state governors to raise awareness about the critical role that laboratory testing and laboratory professionals play in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read More

ASCP, FDA Share Similar Concerns on Antigen Testing
ASCP recently raised concerns to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about antigen testing for COVID-19. "The diminished sensitivity of these assays means that negative test results should be followed up with a confirmatory test, i.e., a COVID-19 RT-PCR assay," the Society wrote in a letter to the FDA. Read More

Hazard Pay, Mental Health Benefits Sought for Pathologists, Laboratory Professionals
ASCP is urging congressional leadership to support hazard pay and other benefits for clinical laboratory staff and other health professionals who are putting their own health at risk when providing COVID-19 testing or treating COVID-19 positive patients. Read More

ASCP Interviewed about Job Satisfaction, Well-Being of Pathologists
The results of ASCP's recent Job Satisfaction, Well-Being, and Burnout Survey of Pathologists report, and tools to address burnout and wellness, were presented in a pathology podcast, Deeper Levels, hosted by Natalie Banet, MD, Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Brown University. Read More

CMS Urged to Consider Specialists When Implementing MIPS Value Pathways
ASCP has signed a letter drafted by the American Medical Association to air concerns about the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' implementation of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System MIPS Value Pathways. Read More

Updated Risk-Based Guidelines Now Published for Management of Abnormal Results in Cervical Cancer Screening and Colposcopy
The National Cancer Institute and the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology have published the 2019 revisions to the risk-based guidelines for management of abnormal cervical cancer screening tests and colposcopic biopsy results. Read More

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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.

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