We understand that recent communications from other accrediting organizations have caused confusion within the clinical laboratory community. We would like to clarify that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has the sole authority to grant CLIA-deemed status to laboratory accrediting organizations. COLA, the first accrediting organization to receive deemed status, has proudly held that authority for over 30 years. Hospital accrediting organizations, such as The Joint Commission (TJC), do not have the authority to remove CMS-deemed status from any laboratory accrediting organizations.
We want to assure you that COLA maintains its deemed status from CMS and remains a premier physician-led laboratory accreditor with a 98% customer satisfaction rate. We are committed to accrediting clinical laboratories of all sizes and types throughout the country. Our Board of Directors includes representatives from some of the largest physician member organizations in the U.S., namely the American Medical Association (AMA), American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and American College of Physicians (ACP). As a physician-directed organization, COLA promotes health and safety through accreditation and educational programs.
Our team at COLA consists of highly experienced professionals who bring a wealth of expertise to the table. COLA employs professional surveyors who are dedicated medical laboratory scientists with a minimum of 10 years of bench experience, eliminating the need for laboratories to perform reciprocal surveys. This ensures consistent and standardized surveys as well as fairness and reliability across all assessments. We strive for high customer satisfaction by providing accessible technical advisors who can be reached throughout the accreditation cycle via email, phone, chat and our customer portal.
We greatly appreciate the opportunity to serve you. We hope that our educational, consistent approach to accreditation has been beneficial for your laboratory and patients.
If you are not currently a COLA-accredited laboratory and would like to learn more about our excellent laboratory accreditation program, please reach out to us.