Archived Position Statements

In July 2023, we changed our name from AACC (short for the American Association for Clinical Chemistry) to the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM). The following page links to resources that were written prior to the rebranding and/or mentions events that took place prior to the rebranding and that contain mentions of the association’s old name.

ADLM 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.


10.06.2020: Newborn Screening and Improving Children's Health

Newborn screening is vital to improving children’s health. ADLM 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 February 2024


10.20.2020: Pediatric Reference Intervals: The Need for Normal

ADLM supports the creation of a national repository to collect and store pediatric samples from healthy children that can be used to develop more precise age, developmental, ethnic and gender specific reference intervals. The repository should also maintain a comprehensive database of existing pediatric reference intervals and make them readily accessible by healthcare providers and patients.

Updated January 2024


08.04.2019: 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