COVER STORY

CDC Report Assesses the State of Proficiency Testing
What changes lie ahead? 
By Phil Kibak

Many laboratorians consider proficiency testing a valuable component of quality management, but many also believe PT needs to be refined and brought up to date. Now the CDC’s PT Working Group has issued its final report, which lists 21 recommendations for improvement. 

Liver Disease and Beyond
Is Widespread ALT Screening the Answer?
By Deborah Levenson

As attention to ALT and AST as screening tests for common liver diseases and other conditions grows, lab directors and physicians are raising concerns about problems with these tests’ reference populations.

SERIES ARTICLE

PSA Testing 
The Disconnect Between Standardization and Interpretive Criteria
By Bernard Cook, PhD, DABCC, FACB

While activities to standardize PSA assays to a uniform calibration material promised to provide benefits, they have invoked unexplained differences between manufacturers’ test results that are not reflected in interpretive criteria.

NEWS BRIEF

CPOE Usage Steadily Rising

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