COLA
About COLA
One of the most well-known laboratory accreditors in the US is the Commission on Office Laboratory Accreditation (COLA). Through its accreditation and instructional services, it is committed to enhancing healthcare and patient care in laboratories across the country. COLA seeks to satisfy the needs of medical labs by collaborating with them to streamline and speed up the certification process. The certificate validates the businesses' quality management system, patient care, healthcare processes, laboratory quality, and the precision and dependability of the lab findings.
Why is COLA important?
- To guarantee the uniform application of the regulation, COLA operates on a nationwide scale, and its inspectors visit labs in different states.
- In order to compare the performance of the new and old installed equipment, correlation studies are conducted.
- It calls for at least five times of overlap between the old and new control lot numbers.
Who should take the COLA Exam?
The relevant healthcare workers having a role in laboratory services may find this course to be beneficial for their continuing education: Registered nurses, respiratory therapists, laboratory supervisors, and many others such as:
- Urgent care facilities
- Hospitals
- Student health centers
- Physician offices
- Long-term care facilities
- Retail care settings
- Public health departments
COLA Certification Course Outline
- General Responsibilities
- Personnel Management Responsibilities
- Procedural Responsibilities
- Quality Control/Quality Assessment Responsibilities
- Proficiency Testing Responsibilities