COVER STORIES

The Status of Laboratory Medicine
CDC Report Hit the Mark, But Will It Drive Change?
By Phil Kibak

In 2006, the CDC announced an ambitious project—to define and identify best practices in laboratory medicine, an effort to transform the field over the next decade. Now, the agency has issued a draft of their commissioned report, “Laboratory Medicine: A National Status Report.”

Saliva Tests: Ready to Spit?
Oral-based Tests Poised for Wider Array of Analytes
By Gina Rollins

Researchers have long believed that saliva is a window to the body. Now new technology and discoveries are making oral fluid diagnostic a real-world alternative to serum for some analytes.

SERIES ARTICLE

ROC Curves
Uncovering the Pearls and Avoiding the Pitfalls
By David Plaut

ROC curve analysis can help select tests, determine cutoffs, and establish clinical accuracy. However, this deceptively straightforward tool must be carefully applied.

NEWS BRIEF

INSIDE

PROFILES