Satisfying regulatory and accreditation requirements for quality control.

The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) requires all US clinical laboratories that test "materials derived from the human body for the purpose of providing information for the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of any disease..." to be regulated. The CLIA mandates are site neutral; based on test complexity; and focus on the three phases of the testing process (preanalytical, analytical, and postanalytical). Many testing sites choose to meet the CLIA requirements by following the testing standards of a professional accreditation organization deemed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The three principal organizations are The Joint Commission, the College of American Pathologists, and COLA.