As a leading educator in laboratory medicine, COLA Resources Inc.’s (CRI®) goal is to continually update our education platform to reflect and support education regarding changes in regulatory requirements. The most recent regulatory changes impacting the clinical laboratory is the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) new Individualized Quality Control Plan (IQCP) quality control interpretive guidelines. CRI®’s IQCP program is designed to assist clinical laboratories develop and implement their own individualized quality control. The program contains an innovative and intuitive software program IQCP E-Optimizer™ and an IQCP Implementation Guide.

CRI®’s IQCP program will assist the clinical laboratory in meeting the following key objectives:

•Perform a meaningful risk assessment

•Customize a QC Plan according to test method, utilization, environmental factors, and personnel competency to produce a QC plan that is clinically and economically beneficial

•Optimize current QC/QA processes

•Adhere to federal, state and accrediting organization requirements

•Ensure continuous quality patient care, with optimal clinical outcomes

•Identifying new initiatives and ongoing measures to improve the quality of patient care.

The CRI® IQCP E-optimizer software tool provides all laboratories from small POLs, to hospitals and independent labs, with a guide or roadmap on how to perform a risk assessment and develop an IQCP. The program includes chronological sets of questions, with common examples of potential sources of error that could occur throughout all phases of testing, (pre analytic, analytic, and post analytic). Based on responses to these questions, an IQCP Summary Report will be generated which includes an overall risk score and the IQCP components that have identified throughout the risk assessment.

The CRI® Implementation Guide is an all-inclusive guide workbook format tool that will assist laboratorians in the implementation of IQCP. The IQCP Implementation Guide will provide a roadmap to performing true Risk Management. It will guide through the development of a Risk Assessment Plan, by utilizing such tools as Process Mapping, Fishbone, and a Risk Identification Table. (Includes completed examples). CRI® IQCP Program is “QC made EZ™”!

CRI® is excited to announce our upcoming series of IQCP Workshops, presented by leading experts in the field of IQCP. These full day interactive workshops include informative presentations by several experts in the field of Risk Assessment, often including CMS representatives. CRI® IQCP Workshops also include live interactive sessions designed for participants to create an IQCP for the individual requirements of their laboratory and further review their plan with the experts! Each Workshop also provides the opportunity to earn six (6) P.A.C.E.© Continuing Education credit hours.

Through our educational portfolio, CRI’s goal is assist laboratory healthcare professionals reduce or eliminate redundant or otherwise unnecessary laboratory testing, thereby increasing the safety, quality, reliability, efficiency and performance of laboratory medicine.

Join us at our AACC McCormick Place Press Conference Tuesday July 29, 2014 at 9:00a.m.and visit us at Booth #1054 to learn more!