Advocacy - Lab Advocate
On October 5, AACC conducted a Hill briefing, “Improving Patient Care through Harmonized Tests,” to educate congressional staff about the importance and value of uniform test results. Moderated by David Koch, PhD, AACC Past-president and current chair of the Policy and External Affairs Core Committee, the briefing informed staffers of the need for harmonization and current efforts to address that need. A listing of the speakers and a brief synopsis of their presentations is below:
Stephen Master, MD, PhD, FCAP, FACB, Weill Cornel Medicine – defined harmonization, described its importance and pointed out that additional federal funding is needed to advance the initiative.
Darius Paduch, MD, PhD, Weill Cornell Medicine – described the value of harmonized test results from the perspective of a practicing physician, stating that the lack of uniform test results can lead to misdiagnosis of the patient and prescribing the wrong treatment.
James Pirkle, MD, PhD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – informed congressional staffers of CDC’s successful efforts in harmonizing clinical laboratory tests, including cholesterol and diabetes, and directed the attendees to a 2011 Research Triangle Institute study that found harmonizing cholesterol saves the healthcare system $338 million to $7.6 billion annually.
Over the past six years, AACC has taken a leading role in advocating for greater consistency in the reporting of laboratory results regardless of method or instrument. The October 5 briefing was a continuation of AACC’s ongoing legislative efforts to harmonize clinical laboratory test results. AACC routinely meets with legislators and congressional staff to discuss the matter and has organized an ad hoc coalition of laboratories, manufacturers and associations – now numbering 16 – to advocate in favor of harmonization.
AACC has had a number of legislative successes in this area. In 2014, AACC was able to include report language in a congressional spending bill, signed into law by President Obama, which urged CDC to partner with the private sector in harmonizing clinical laboratory tests. Similarly, AACC has worked with legislators and staff to include report language in the FY2017 House Department of Health and Human Services funding bill that directs CDC to update Congress on its harmonization activities. This language may open the door for more federal funding, since it gives CDC an opportunity to mention what additional resources it would need to expand its program.
Harmonization remains one of the association’s key policy objectives. To learn more about the issue, and AACC’s involvement, please read the association’s white paper and position statement on this topic.