The AACC is urging laboratory professionals to contact their members of Congress and request that they support H.R.1248, the Newborn Screening Saves Lives Reauthorization Act, which would preserve recent advances in state newborn screening programs. Earlier legislation contributed to a dramatic expansion in newborn screening for treatable ...

  It is that time of year when we celebrate National  Medical Laboratory Professionals Week (NMLPW).  This is a week when the various, often competing, laboratory organizations join forces  to honor the more than 300,000 medical laboratory professionals around the country who perform and interpret more than 10 ...

Since the ASCP took over the popular and progressive NCA in 2009, I have periodically received emails from medical lab professionals not happy with the merger for various reasons.  Prompted by this overwhelming response, I have previously blogged about this subject. I have also addressed the mixed response to the move. Recently I have ...

Today, December 1, is World AIDS Day. This is the 25th annual observance of the day originally organized under the auspices of the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise the awareness of HIV/AIDS and garner support for research, understanding, education and allocation of resources. We have come a long way in our understanding, treatment and ...

I recently learned that the merger talks between two laboratory organizations ASCLS and CLMA have broken down.  Now it might surprise you that as a long time, avid advocate of professional unification,  I was not really devastated by this news. Here's some background.  ASCLS, an organization  to which I have belonged ...

I am in the process of packing to attend the ASCLS Annual Meeting 2012 in Los Angeles, Tuesday through Saturday, July 17 to 21. I am exciting because I will be an attendee as well as a presenter. As in recent years, ASCLS is joining with AACC to  mount the world's largest clinical laboratory meeting and exposition.  These meetings are ...

The other day a staff person said, “I’ll bet the nurses don’t like coming to the lab. This is our turf, and it’s us against them when that happens.” Most nurses love coming the lab if they are greeted with warm smiles and pleasantries. It’s ironic that we laboratory people will stay inside our “black box” and complain when our work isn’t ...

This week, April 22-28, we celebrate National Medical Laboratory Professionals' Week (NMLPW). This celebartion was started in 1975 as National Medical Laboratory Week (without the word ''professionals'') by American Society for Medical Technology (ASMT), now called the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS). Now in its 36th ...

  Just a few minutes ago, a friend sent me a link to a news story about a hospital in New York that was forced to close because  of  what he described  as ''problems with their lab.''  An inspection of the laboratory by New York State Department of Health yesterday found enough significant deficiencies to direct ...

I just saw the blockbuster movie Contagion and must say I was pretty impressed. When I watch a medical-themed movie, I always look at it with a critical eye. How factual is it? Is it authentic in terms of scenarios, equipment, procedures and vocabulary?I look for how realistically roles are portrayed. For example I tend to roll my eyes and become ...