ePolicy News—August 2025

August 21, 2025

In this issue: 

  • Senate Appropriations Committee Restores NIH, CDC Funding  

  • ASCP Opposes Pharmacist SOP Bill 

  • We Want to Hear from You: Share Your Experience with Effective Test Utilization Recommendations in Practice

  • ICYMI: New Job Aid Assists Laboratory Professionals in Using AI 

  • Where Lab Science Leads: ASCP’s New Career Resource and National Outreach 

  • ICYMI: ASCP and PLUGS Design Education to Enhance Diagnostic Testing of Celiac Disease 

 

Senate Appropriations Committee Restores NIH, CDC Funding 

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its FY 2026 spending bill, proposing significant funding increases for key health agencies, including a $400 million boost to the NIH budget and the reversal of proposed cuts to indirect research grant costs. The bill also preserves funding for global health initiatives at the CDC and NIH, rejecting the administration’s proposed eliminations and reductions. Read more.  

 

ASCP Opposes Pharmacy SOP Bill 

ASCP is urging Congress to reconsider the Ensuring Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act, which would authorize pharmacists to perform evaluation and management services for certain common illnesses. In a letter to lawmakers, the groups warned that such services exceed pharmacists' training and could compromise patient safety, especially if expanded during public health emergencies. Read more.  

 

We Want to Hear from You: Share Your Experience with Effective Test Utilization Recommendations in Practice 

ASCP has launched a first-of-its-kind survey to explore how the Effective Test Utilization (ETU) recommendations (formerly known as Choosing Wisely) are being applied in practice. We want to hear from you. Whether you’ve encountered any barriers to implementation, have success stories to share, or built meaningful collaborations through ETU efforts, your experience in practice is important to us! 

Your vital feedback will help us assess which recommendations remain pertinent, identify those that may require revision, and shape new resources to better support your vital work in the laboratory.  

Take the Survey, by September 3, 2025, and help guide the future of ASCP’s ETU program. 

 

 

ICYMI: New Job Aid Assists Laboratory Professionals in Using AI 

Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly prevalent in laboratory administration, offering solutions to ease workloads and address staff shortages. To guide the laboratory team in using these tools effectively and ethically, ASCP has developed a job aid that outlines best practices and suggests specific AI applications for common administrative tasks. Read more. 

 

Where Lab Science Leads: ASCP’s New Career Resource and National Outreach 

ASCP’s Workforce Steering Committee and Board of Certification launched a new career resource, Where Can Medical Laboratory Science Take You?, highlighting the wide variety of career paths available to laboratory professionals. This tool can help engage hundreds of school counselors and educators to promote lab science careers and inspire the next generation of professionals. Read more.  

 

ICYMI: ASCP and PLUGS Design Education to Enhance Diagnostic Testing of Celiac Disease

Celiac disease is frequently underdiagnosed or mistaken for other conditions. To address this, ASCP is partnering with Patient-Centered Laboratory Utilization Guidance Services (PLUGS) to create educational resources that clarify which laboratory tests are most appropriate—and when to use them—for accurate diagnosis and effective management of celiac disease. Read more.  

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