WHY LICENSURE FOR CLINICAL LABORATORY PRACTITIONERS WORKERS

WHY LICENSURE FOR CLINICAL LABORATORY PRACTITIONERS WORKERS?

Licensure, by definition, is a process by which a state government grants permission to an individual to engage in a given occupation upon finding that an applicant has obtained the minimal degree of competency necessary to ensure that the public health, safety and welfare will be reasonably well protected.

Licensure of laboratory practitioners in Michigan will protect the public from the incompetence of unqualified personnel. Licensure will guarantee that specialized and appropriate education and training is received by practitioners which will uniquely qualify them to perform laboratory testing in a safe, effective and high quality manner.

The licensure of clinical laboratory practitioners will guarantee that minimum standards of competency are met by all who perform laboratory tests and will contribute to maximizing the quality of health care services provided to the public. Several published studies have concluded that there is a direct link between the qualifications of laboratory personnel doing the testing and the quality and accuracy of the test results.

Licensure of laboratory practitioners in Michigan will minimize harmful outcomes due to practitioner error because of inadequate or inappropriate training. There are many examples of harm caused to health care consumers because of laboratory errors. Any one of the over 1,000 tests that a laboratory can perform has the potential to be performed incorrectly. A wrong laboratory test result can mean:

• Misdiagnosis and even death

• Missed (no) diagnosis and no treatment when needed

• Incorrect diagnosis and improper treatment with harmful outcomes

• Repeat testing due to questionable results

• Costly follow-up procedures, including unnecessary surgery

• Worry and anxiety for patients and parents/families

• Additional costs to the health care system

• Financial hardship for the consumer public

The costs of repeating inaccurate or erroneous tests, in addition to the physical and emotional harm and unnecessary anxiety for the patient, may exceed any costs of ensuring accuracy through the use of competent personnel.

The licensure of laboratory practitioners in Michigan will serve to reduce the escalating costs of care through increased quality and consistency of services, thereby decreasing unnecessary duplication and malpractice costs.

Licensure of clinical laboratory practitioners in Michigan is the best option to improve upon the inadequacies of federal regulations (CLIA '88) which currently allow individuals with only a high school diploma to perform almost any laboratory test. Time and time again, the data demonstrates that as the level of education of testing personnel decreases, the number of significant deficiencies and testing inaccuracies in laboratories increases.

HB 4554, sponsored by Rep. Paul Gieleghem, was introduced on April 9, 2003. The bill is designed to recognize and utilize the widely accepted professional standards of education, training, experience and certification as the basis for meeting the licensure qualifications for each practitioner category. There is no requirement for the state to develop and administer a costly examination, but rather the bills provide for the recognition of the national, competence-based examinations that already exist.

Physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and many other health professionals are licensed in Michigan. These licensed health care professionals make critical patient care decisions based on the information provided by clinical laboratories. It makes no sense for licensed professionals to rely on information provided by unlicensed, under-educated and unqualified laboratory testing personnel in the diagnosis, treatment and care of their patients.

The public has no way to evaluate the accuracy of clinical laboratory testing or even to know where the testing is being done and who is doing it.

The licensure of laboratory practitioners is necessary because the practice of clinical laboratory science affects the health, safety and welfare of the public.

The public has come to recognize, accept and expect occupational licensure as the Good Housekeeping "Seal of Approval".

Licensure of laboratory personnel in Michigan will provide state control over the laboratory workforce serving its citizens, permitting Michigan to address any specific needs that are identified. This is the best, and perhaps the only, way to ensure to the citizens of Michigan the existence of site-neutral regulations to safeguard them against incompetent practitioners.

Licensure, through the power to revoke licenses, will provide Michigan with a state level enforcement mechanism to remove incompetent personnel from practice which is not available through any other means.