AACC periodically updates position statements as laws, regulations, and other issues important to members and clinical laboratories evolve. Below, you can find the previously published versions of position statements that have been updated since their initial release.
11.01.2022: Stopping the Opioid Epidemic: The Integral Role of Clinical Laboratorians
AACC supports efforts to address the opioid crisis through greater collaboration between laboratories, healthcare personnel, and public health and safety agencies
Updated November 2022
11.30.2018: Modernization of CLIA: Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs)
The American Association for Clinical Chemistry recommends that CLIA remain the primary mechanism for overseeing clinical laboratories. The Association supports modernizing the laboratory standard to ensure that it continues to meet the changing needs of the healthcare community.
Updated December 2021
10.30.2018: Modernization of CLIA: Certificate of Waiver Testing Sites
The American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) supports greater federal monitoring of laboratories performing only Certificate of Waiver (CoW) testing. AACC recommends that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services expand its oversight of facilities performing waived testing and exhort them to adopt good laboratory practices. Further, the association urges Congress…
Updated October 2021
11.30.2018: Harmonization of Clinical Laboratory Test Results
Laboratory test results are a critical element of patient care and must be harmonized to ensure that accurate diagnoses and appropriate treatment decisions for patients are made.
Updated October 2021
05.30.2017: Advancing Value Based Healthcare: Laboratory Medicine's Essential Role
AACC supports efforts to improve patient care through better test utilization and test interpretation. These objectives can be accomplished through a variety of means, such as increased use of evidence-based test protocols, the creation of clinical decision support systems, and expanded clinician education. In addition, the use of diagnostic management…
Updated December 2020
04.20.2017: Newborn Screening and Improving Children's Health
Newborn screening is vital to improving children’s health. AACC endorses public-private efforts to maintain, improve, and expand newborn screening programs. The Association also supports evidence-based efforts to identify additional conditions for screening and the use of residual specimens for quality assurance and continuous improvements in pediatric healthcare.
Updated October 2020
04.20.2017: Oversight of Laboratory Developed Tests
Laboratory Developed Tests provide timely, accurate, quality testing for many conditions for which no commercial test exists or when an existing test does not meet current clinical needs. The regulation of LDTs should remain under CLIA’88 and its deemed accreditation bodies, except for certain high risk tests that should be subject to both FDA and CMS oversight.
Updated October 2020
07.05.2016: Pediatric Lab Results: The Need for "Normal"
High-quality reference intervals for children age 0-18 years are needed to ensure that pediatric patients are appropriately diagnosed and treated. Without precise reference intervals physicians may misdiagnose a condition, which could result in patient harm and increased healthcare costs.
Updated January 2020
06.01.2015: Advancing Personalized/Precision Medicine
Laboratory medicine plays a vital role in enabling the practice of precision medicine, including the identification of drugs or interventions that are best suited for each individual patient.
Updated January 2020
07.01.2015: Direct-to-Consumer Laboratory Testing
Direct-to-consumer laboratory testing permits consumers to order laboratory tests directly from a laboratory without necessarily having to work with a healthcare provider.
Updated December 2019
04.11.2017: Harmonization of Clinical Laboratory Test Results
Laboratory test results are a critical element of patient care and must be harmonized to ensure that accurate diagnoses and appropriate treatment decisions for patients are made.
Updated November 2018