National Jewish Health Advanced Diagnostic Laboratories Receive CAP 15189SM Accreditation

The College of American Pathologists (CAP) has renewed CAP 15189^SM Accreditation for National Jewish Health Advanced Diagnostic Laboratories. Currently, only 22 laboratories in the United States have earned this prestigious accreditation.

CAP 15189 Accreditation, based on Standard 15189 for laboratory technical competence and continual quality management, is administered by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It seeks to improve patient safety and reduce risk, by outlining standards for quality and competence in medical laboratories.

CAP 15189 is a voluntary, non-regulatory accreditation to the ISO 15189:2007 standard as published by ISO. The program does not replace the CAP’s Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-based Laboratory Accreditation Program, but complements CAP accreditation and other quality systems. The program optimizes processes to improve patient care and strengthens 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.

National Jewish Health Advanced Diagnostic Laboratories received its original CAP 15189 Accreditation in 2011. The current renewal is valid until February 2014.

“We are so pleased to have this accreditation renewed,” said Ronald Harbeck, PhD, Medical Director for National Jewish Health Advanced Diagnostic Laboratories. “This process helps us keep a continued focus on our quality systems and optimize many processes to reduce errors and risk.”

National Jewish Health Advanced Diagnostic Laboratories is an integrated esoteric clinical laboratory that translates science into personalized medicine. We provide unparalleled immune and respiratory disease expertise to our clinical, biotech, pharmaceutical and diagnostic partners. Collaborating with these organizations, we share our passion for science and develop new therapies and high quality laboratory tests that transform patient lives.

The College of American Pathologists (CAP) is a medical society that serves more than 17,000 physician members and the laboratory community throughout the world. It is the world’s largest association composed exclusively of board-certified pathologists and is widely recognized as the leader in laboratory quality assurance. The CAP is an advocate for high quality and cost-effective patient care.