With the January 1, 2016, implementation date fast approaching for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ new quality control option, individualized quality control plans (IQCPs), labs are still gearing up to go IQCP. Four sessions at AACC’s 2015 Annual Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo will give clinical laboratory professionals the knowledge and tools they need for a successful IQCP rollout.

In a morning symposium on July 27, “Developing a Successful IQCP: Let’s Keep It Simple” (32103), attendees will hear directly from Joint Commission representatives on what this accreditation body will be looking for in IQCPs. Co-presenters Elia Mears, MS, and Stacy Olea, MBA, will look at the components of IQCPs, describe some creative ways to create and implement plans, and review the Joint Commission’s expectations for labs that go the IQCP route for their non-waived testing.

In a more intimate setting on July 28, Zoe Brooks, ART, CSMLS, will give two Brown Bag sessions, “IQCP: Do It Yourself” (43113), offered at 7:30 a.m., and 53213 offered at 12:30. In a roundtable with just 10 participants, Brooks, a partner in AWEsome Numbers, a company that provides quality control-related software, educational, and consulting services to medical laboratories, will explore the benefits of combining analytical process quality and QC process effectiveness into a single risk-based quality grade.

Later on July 28, Annual Meeting attendees will have another opportunity to explore IQCP. In afternoon short course, “In Quest to Cut and Paste: Optimizing Truly Individualized Quality Control Plans (IQCPs) Through POCC and Vendor Collaboration” (73220), speakers Peggy Mann, MS, BS, Kerstin Halverson, BA, MS, and Kimberly Skala, MT, ASCP, will place the IQCP focus on point-of-care testing (POCT). With Skala, a clinical specialist from Instrumentation Laboratory representing the vendor’s perspective, this trio of POCT experts will look at how labs can develop IQCPs using vendor information, tools, and templates. They also will explore implementing IQCPs in labs that have pediatric and other special patient populations.

With these four sessions, Annual Meeting attendees will be armed with strategies, resources, and knowledge to make the most of IQCP.

Register online to attend these and other Annual Meeting sessions.