ePolicy News April 2024

ASCP Submits Congressional Testimony Opposing the VALID Act and FDA LDT Rule
ASCP recently submitted congressional testimony opposing the Verifying Accurate and Leading-edge IVCT Development Act (or VALID Act) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent Proposed Rule claiming oversight authority over laboratory developed tests (LDTs). These oversight schemes could irrevocably damage the ability of laboratories to meet patient testing needs. Read more.

ASCP Responds to Senator Cassidy about Concerns with LDT Oversight
ASCP recently told Senator Bill Cassidy, the senior Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that federal oversight for laboratory developed tests (LDTs) “must be rigorous, nimble, and affordable, to ensure laboratories can innovate and provide patients with access to the tests they need.” Read more.

CDC OneLab Hosts Workforce-Focused SummitPla
nning and preparing for outbreaks or pandemics and ensuring personal effectiveness as a leader are among the topics to be discussed during the Center for Disease Control’s virtual OneLab summit to be held on April 16-18. Speakers include workforce experts from the CDC, ASCP laboratory leaders including Dana Powell Baker, MBA, MS, MLS(ASCP)^CM, and Nathan Johnson, PhD, MASCP, DLM(ASCP), and members of the Medical and Public Health Workforce Coalition. Read more. 

ASCP Helps Shape National Laboratory Response System
Creating a national laboratory response system, defining its purpose and role, key partners and ensuring it can response to future biological threats was the focus of a recent meeting hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ASCP and other healthcare organizations took part in the discussions and is committed to supporting initiatives such as this to ensure the laboratory workforce is prepared for future health challenges. Read more. 

ASCP’s ‘Grow Your Own Laboratory’ Webinar Shows How to Start Programs in Underserved Areas
Join ASCP in the final part of its “Grow Your Own Laboratory” webinar series to learn how resource-limited settings like rural communities are profoundly impacted by the workforce shortage. This webinar, to be held on Wednesday, April 17, from 4 to 5 p.m. EST, will focus on how laboratories in underserved areas, rural areas, or communities that lack laboratory professionals can establish their own programs. Read more. 

Amazing Race to Laboratory Advocacy at KnowledgeLab
The 2024 KnowledgeLab meeting, April 30-May 1, will feature an innovative general session using the recently released ASCP Negotiation & Advocacy Toolbox to mine solutions to real-world challenges in the clinical laboratory setting. Using the format of the “Amazing Race,” four teams will compete to overcome obstacles, move their lab advocacy efforts forward, and gain the attention and respect of their C-Suite leaders. The Negotiation and Advocacy Toolbox is intended to support laboratory leaders to advocate for the needs of the laboratory on behalf of laboratory professionals and staff. Read more. 

Urgent! Your Input Needed to Complete ASCP 2024 Vacancy Survey!
The ASCP 2024 Vacancy Survey is open now through April 30 and seeks to determine the extent and distribution of workforce shortages within the nation’s medical laboratories. The survey includes new questions on artificial intelligence (AI) to determine the current and potential uses of AI in the laboratory. It also asks about hiring, recruitment, and retention challenges participants encounter in their institutions. ASCP members are urged to respond to the Vacancy Survey. Your input is vital to determining the extent and distribution of workforce shortages within the nation’s medical laboratories. Read more.