Your registration includes access to the recording on demand through August 31, 2024.
Description
Specific, outcome based, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) treatment goals are in the standards of care of many diabetes organizations worldwide. However, poor assay quality and lack of comparability of HbA1c test results among methods and laboratories initially presented a major obstacle to meaningful implementation of guidelines for diabetes care. Since that time, methods for measuring HbA1c have improved tremendously, and the NGSP standardization/certification program has provided tools for manufacturers to standardize their methods. This has enabled laboratories to report results that are traceable to the outcome data on which current guidelines are based.
Laboratorians need to be familiar with current HbA1c methods, how HbA1c results are used by healthcare providers to provide optimal diabetes care, and how the NGSP is working to further improve HbA1c measurement. There is still some room for improvement in HbA1c testing, especially given its use in diagnosis. A few methods still show sub-optimal variability on CAP surveys; we encourage laboratories to use methods that are NGSP certified and that show good performance on CAP surveys. There are also new CLIA regulations that go into effect July 2024 that include HbA1c as a regulated analyte and introduce performance criteria. How these new CLIA regulations may impact the laboratory and HbA1c testing is not fully known but is necessary to be aware of.
In this webinar, Dr. Randie Little, a leader in HbA1c standardization, discusses the importance of precision and accuracy of HbA1c testing for laboratories and patient care. Dr. Little also provides information about the upcoming CLIA regulations and how they might affect precision and accuracy of HbA1c testing. As a highly utilized test with direct impact on laboratories and patients, all laboratorians are encouraged to register.
Target Audience
This activity is designed for physicians, lab supervisors, lab directors (and/or assistant directors), lab managers (supervisory and/or non-supervisory), medical technologists, fellows, residents, in-training individuals, and other laboratory professionals overseeing/conducting within this topic.
Learning Objectives
At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Identify the major method types available for HbA1c measurement and what to look for when selecting a method for HbA1c measurement.
- Describe the NGSP and explain why standardization of HbA1c and accurate measurement is so vital to accurate diagnosis of diabetes and treatment of people with diabetes.
- Explain how the new CLIA regulations could impact accuracy and precision of HbA1c testing.
Faculty
Randie Little, PhD
Research Professor
Director of Diabetes Diagnostic Laboratory
University of Missouri School of Medicine
Columbia, MO
Disclosures and Statement of Independence
The Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (formerly AACC) is dedicated to ensuring balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all educational activities. All participating planning committee members and faculty are required to disclose to the program audience any financial relationships related to the subject matter of this program. Disclosure information is reviewed in advance in order to manage and resolve any possible conflicts of interest. The intent of this disclosure is to provide participants with information on which they can make their own judgments.
The following faculty reported no relevant financial relationships:
Content Validity
All recommendations involving clinical medicine are based on evidence accepted within the profession of medicine as adequate justification for their indications and contraindications in the care of patients; AND/OR all scientific research referred to or reported in support or justification of a patient care recommendation conforms to generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection, and analysis.
Accreditation Statement
This activity is approved for 1.0 ACCENT® continuing education credits. Activity ID# 4239. This activity was planned in accordance with ACCENT® Standards and Policies.
Successful Completion Statement
Verification of Participation certificates are provided to registered participants based on completion of the activity, in its entirety, and the activity evaluation. For questions regarding continuing education, please email [email protected].