A2LA provided Clinical Laboratory Improvement Program (CLIP) Accreditation to the US Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. The accreditation is the result of a successful multi-day on-site assessment conducted by a team of experts that included reviewing the laboratory documents, examining technical data and records, evaluating the performance of testing, and interviewing laboratory staff and technical management to determine technical competence specific to the testing requested.

The DoD Center for Clinical Laboratory Medicine (CCLM) oversees the CLIP accreditation program and can rely on non-profit accreditation organizations that maintain Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) deemed status recognition to conduct the technical assessments and provisions of accreditation. The CLIP requirements are Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act (CLIA)-comparable requirements meaning that they are similar but not necessarily identical to the Health and Human Services CLIA requirements which may be modified as needed to meet the unique DoD missions, as prescribed in the DoD Instructions 6440.2 (2014).

A world-renowned leader in accreditation, A2LA is the only accreditation organization in the world holding the highest level of formal clinical laboratory accreditation recognitions: CMS CLIA Deemed Status and International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) recognition. A2LA’s ability to combine technical competence with best-in-class customer service improves the assessment experience while maintaining the integrity of the accreditation process. “The USAMRICD is very excited to stand up this novel capability within the Department of Defense to clinically verify exposure to chemical threat agents," said Dr. Cheri Roseberry, Chief of USAMRICD's Quality Management Office. "Especially with the recent world events involving the use of chemical weapons, expanding our efforts to support our Nation's warfighters by establishing a high complexity laboratory was an important goal for us. We knew, however, that obtaining accreditation, although worthwhile, would be an intensive process. We truly appreciate how very amendable A2LA was to working with the unique needs of a Department of Defense institution with such specialized testing. We also recognize that A2LA employed a significant amount of effort to create a CLIP-customized checklist to ensure accreditation followed program requirements. Now that the process is complete, USAMRICD's new accreditation will allow important confirmatory results on samples from service members to be available for health care providers."

“These formal recognitions provide an unmatched, comprehensive accreditation portfolio for clinical laboratory customers in the government and private sectors and across the breadth of medical disciplines and is in keeping with our goals of improving laboratory quality and patient care; raising the bar on clinical accreditation here in the United States and globally,” states Lonnie Spires, A2LA President and CEO.

Visit www.a2la.org/