Above: The CPP diplomates pose at the CPOCT Division & Awards Meeting, Tuesday, August 6, 2019, at the 2019 American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo (Anaheim, CA); Dr. Rita Khoury, Aculabs’ Lab Director, stands in the center. Photo courtesy of Medical Lab Observer.

In August 2019, Aculabs’ Lab Director Dr. Rita Khoury, MD, DABCC, FAACC, CPP, was interviewed by the Medical Laboratory Observer about her experience in Point of Care Testing (POCT) and about being one of the first laboratory professionals to be certified in Point of Care Testing.

While overseeing Aculabs’ entire continuum of testing to ensure continued excellence on the promise of quick test results that help reduce hospital readmission amongst residents, Dr. Khoury also oversees the standards of Aculabs’ Point of Care Program. Started in 2014, the program serves as the first and only laboratory program in the Mid-Atlantic that can help maintain, train, and integrate bedside blood analysis.

Dr. Khoury serving as one of the first to receive the CPP credential further validates the Aculabs Point of Care Program as a key innovation.

Overseen by the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC), “the CPP credential, the first of its kind in the United States, certifies testing personnel who have demonstrated competency in all areas of POCT, including regulation and compliance, quality management, education and training, instrument selection and connectivity and information technology.”

During the 2019 AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo in Anaheim, CA, Dr. Khoury sat down with the Medical Laboratory Observer to discuss the importance of such a certification program overseeing Point of Care Testing:

“It speaks to the strengths of this field, and it puts us at the same level as medical board certification for any other specialty,” said Khoury, who also holds certification in clinical chemistry from the American Board of Clinical Chemistry. The CPP credential “tells you that this person has a knowledge in POCT regulations, compliance, quality management, leadership, communication and other aspects of POCT, and it benefits everybody—not only our laboratory staff, but also the doctors, hospitals and facilities we serve.”

In addition, she said, CPP certification gives her clients more confidence that when they receive lab test results, they know “behind every number, someone certified is supervising the process.”

Dr. Khoury goes on to speak about the importance of credentialism in the field in both reassuring residents and administrative staff of Aculabs’ expertise and assuring all of Aculabs’ client facilities that someone certified is surprising the process for every number they see.

“I’m encouraging everyone, even here in our lab, if you are qualified in POCT, you have to take the test,” added Khoury. “You’ve done enough hard work, just get officially recognized for it.”

To read the full article by the Medical Laboratory Observer, click here.