It has been 5 months since I have assumed the office of President of AACC. Despite some personal set-backs, the experience has made me proud and humble. I am proud to represent the leading professional organization in our field and humbled by the people I have met in my travels and by the AACC staff I work with.
I am writing this piece, and hope to continue to write periodically, to keep our members informed. I have learned that much goes on “behind the scenes” that our members and colleagues may not be aware of. I will focus on a few topics that our committees, made up of AACC member volunteers, and staff are working on. I hope to highlight other topics in future editions of this piece.
One example is the effort in government relations, where there is continual evaluation of the impact of our new administration in Washington is having on health care reform. Vince Stine, Director of Government Affairs at AACC and the Committee on Government Relations, consisting of AACC members who volunteer their time and chaired by Sharon Ehyrmyer, direct their attention to issues brought before Congress, governmental agencies, and non-government organizations that may impact laboratory medicine. They prepare written responses, develop approaches to dealing with these issues, and bring topics of concern to the attention of the officers, board of directors, and other AACC staff.
I am happy to report that AACC has been actively engaged in promoting greater use of evidence-based medicine in health care decision-making, as well as supporting continued funding of the NIH National Children’s Study—a 20 year study to identify the impact of environmental factors on children’s health. We are hoping to use data gathered by this research initiative to improve pediatric reference ranges.
It is important that AACC members stay informed of government activities that are likely to impact them both personally and professionally. The economy has hit our laboratories and our association; none are immune to the economic struggles we are facing. The recent publication of “Laboratory Medicine: A National Status Report”, commissioned by the CDC, will most likely shape opinion and policy in the future direction of laboratory medicine. Our members must be aware of this document so that the impetus of potential policy changes are understood and we are not taken by surprise. It can be found online at www.futurelabmedicine.org.
Another area of activity is a recent initiative to create programs that will assist developing (resource-limited) countries in improving the quality and scope of laboratory medicine. This effort has been funded by a generous grant from the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation. For a number of years, AACC has provided educational materials and international travel grants to laboratorians from developing areas around the world. This new funding increases our ability to do more for our colleagues abroad.
Although we are still formulating next steps, a large amount of background work has gone into educating ourselves on how we might contribute. These include interviewing experts who are members, surveying travel grant recipients, and meeting with laboratory associations already involved in developing country initiatives. A few of us have had the opportunity to visit laboratories in Latin America to develop a sense of what areas of laboratory medicine would be useful, such as education, training, and quality control programs. Rich Flaherty, executive vice president of AACC and Pamela Nash, executive director of the Van Slyke Foundation, have gathered the materials, information and expertise we need to proceed. As I speak on this topic at various local section meetings, it appears to generate a great deal of enthusiasm, as members have offered to volunteer their time either by to contacting key individuals in certain countries or translating educational material into other languages. Though still early in the process, I am very excited about AACC further expanding our reach to include assistance to our colleagues with limited resources.
Our Academy, NACB, continues to plan and present informative and insightful programs that involve input and collaborations with our physician colleagues and shape how we best use laboratory test. This is done through the development of guidelines and recommendations in the Laboratory Medicine Practice Guidelines (LMPG) process.
AACC’s journal, Clinical Chemistry, the leading publication in our field continues to thrive under the leadership of Dr. Nader Rifai, editor, and Mac Fancher, director and publisher, continues to thrive with such innovative additions as the Lily Robinson series and clinical case studies. If you have not yet read about Lily’s missions and “approach” to toxicology, I encourage you to do so…..you will be both challenged and intrigued.
Did you know that Labtestsonline, (LTO, www.labtestsonline.org) a consumer-based website containing laboratory test information, receives about 1.2 million hits per month – and that’s only in the US. LTO has been transcribed into nine languages with more on the way.
At the very least, I hope this piece assures you that your AACC leadership, both the volunteer members who serve on committees, divisions, local sections, the board, and the AACC staff in Washington, D.C., work extremely hard on your behalf to educate us, keep us informed of changes that impact our profession, and provide a “place to go” when we have questions or want to network with colleagues and friends.
In future pieces I plan to write about a few more specific projects being developed by AACC. Despite these challenging financial times, your association is working hard to continue to provide the tools and information you need to navigate our rewarding profession.
Thank you for your interest in laboratory medicine.
Barbara M. Goldsmith, PhD
President, AACC