Accreditation to the International Standards Organization for Quality Management Granted to Firs...( NORTHFIELD Ill. Nov. 20 -- The Colle...),Health

NORTHFIELD, Ill., Nov. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The College of American Pathologists (CAP), a deemed accreditation authority, is pleased to announce it has awarded the CAP 15189(SM) Accreditation to Piedmont Medical Laboratory. This accreditation is based on the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for laboratory technical competence and continual quality management and focuses on improved patient safety and risk reduction, outlining standards for quality and competence particular to medical laboratories. Piedmont is the first laboratory in the United States to attain this accreditation.

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CAP 15189(SM)is a voluntary, non-regulated accreditation to the ISO 15189:2007 Standard as published by the International Organization for Standardization. This program does not replace the CLIA-based Laboratory Accreditation Program, but complements CAP accreditation and other quality systems. This program optimizes processes to improve patient care, strengthen quality standards while reducing institutional errors and risks, and controls costs. CAP 15189 is an educational program that offers a highly disciplined approach to implementing and sustaining change.

According to Joseph Skrisson, president and CEO of Piedmont Medical Center in Winchester, VA, "The CAP 15189 accreditation program is a milestone for laboratory medicine in the U.S.A. CAP's recognition and endorsement of ISO will serve as a catalyst for wider acceptance of the ISO standards and principles by laboratories in North America. Since ISO 15189 is becoming the laboratory industry's international language for quality and competence I will be looking forward to one day sitting down with colleagues from around the world to share ideas and discuss the challenges facing all of
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