00-4

Planning 

Report

The Economic Impacts of

NIST Cholesterol Standards

Program

Prepared by:

TASC, Inc.

for

National Institute of

Standards & Technology

Program Office

Strategic Planning and

Economic Analysis Group

September 2000

U.S Department of Commerce

Technology Administration
The Economic Impacts of NIST’S 

Cholesterol Standards Program

September 2000

Prepared for:

The National Institute of Standards and Technology

Program Office

Strategic Planning and Economic Analysis Group

Prepared under:

Contract No. 43NANB612002

Prepared by:

David P. Leech

Reviewed by:

Paul A. Belmont

TASC, Inc.

1101 Wilson Boulevard

Suite 1500

Arlington, VA 22209
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We wish to acknowledge the contributions of Michael Chinworth and Albert Link to an

early draft of this report. We also wish to acknowledge the contributions of Ellyn Beary and

Michael Welch, of NIST, for their support during the survey phase of the effort. Michael Marx

(TASC) made incisive recommendations for improving the analysis and presentation of the

report. 
ii

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................. i

LIST OF FIGURES........................................................................................................................iii

LIST OF TABLES .........................................................................................................................iii

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY............................................................................................................. 1

1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................... 1

2. THE ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF ACCURATE CHOLESTEROL MEASURMENT. 4

2.1 Cholesterol and Health........................................................................................................ 4

2.2 Sources of Cholesterol Measurement Inaccuracy ............................................................... 5

2.2.1 Pre-analytical Issues................................................................................................ 6

2.2.2 Analytical Issues ..................................................................................................... 6

2.3 NIST’s Role in Cholesterol Measurement Standardization................................................ 8

2.3.1 Chronology of Significant Events........................................................................... 8

2.3.2 Clinical Laboratory Traceability for Cholesterol.................................................. 11

3. INDUSTRY SUPPLY CHAIN............................................................................................. 16

3.1 Clinical Laboratories......................................................................................................... 16

3.2 Instrument manufacturers ................................................................................................. 18

3.3 The Market for Cholesterol Diagnostics........................................................................... 19

3.4 Changes in Buyer Supplier Relations: Implications for the Utility of NIST SRMs ........ 21

4. ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK.................................................................... 25

4.1 NIST’s Cholesterol Standards Program Outputs.............................................................. 25

4.2 Evalution Framework and Approach ................................................................................ 25

4.2.1 Cholesterol SRMs: Mitigation of Market Failures ............................................... 25

4.2.2 Comparison Scenario............................................................................................ 27

4.2.3 Impact Estimation Timeframe .............................................................................. 28

4.2.4 Hypothesized Outcomes ....................................................................................... 29

5. SURVEY FINDINGS ........................................................................................................... 31

5.1 The Survey Population...................................................................................................... 31

5.2 Quantitative Findings........................................................................................................ 31

5.3 Qualitative Findings.......................................................................................................... 32

6. QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS ............................................................................................ 35

6.1 Cost Avoidance Benefits................................................................................................... 35

6.1.1 Production Cost Avoidance ......................................................................................... 36

6.1.2 Transaction Cost Avoidance ........................................................................................ 36

6.2 NIST Expenditures............................................................................................................ 37

6.3 Measures of Economic Impact.......................................................................................... 38

APPENDIX A: WHAT IS CHOLESTEROL? ............................................................................ 40

APPENDIX B: MEASURES OF ECONOMIC IMPACT .......................................................... 42
iii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1—Traceability to NIST’s Cholesterol Accuracy Base..................................................... 12

Figure 2—Traceability Hierarchy of Measurement Methods....................................................... 14

Figure 3—The Relevant Supply Chain for Cholesterol SRMs..................................................... 17

LIST OF TABLES

Table ES-1—Economic Impact of NIST’s Cholesterol Standards Program .................................. 2

Table 1—Timeline of Significant Events in the Development of Cholesterolrelated SRMs and the Definitive Method ............................................................................... 8

Table 2—Major Chemistry Instrument & Diagnostic Chemical Manufacturers.......................... 20

Table 3—Chemistry Instrument Installed Base: Hospital & Commercial Labs........................... 21

Table 4—Economic Analysis Framework.................................................................................... 26

Table 5—Industry Cost Avoidance Benefits ................................................................................ 35

Table 6—Cholesterol SRM Program Costs.................................................................................. 38

Table 7—Constant 1999 Dollar Benefits and Costs (1986-1999)*............................................... 38

Table 8—Lower-Bound Estimates of Economic Impact (1986–1999) ........................................ 39

Table A-1—Cholesterol Blood Level Thresholds........................................................................ 41
ES–1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) develops and maintains

national standards, certifies standard reference materials (SRMs), and offers a wide variety of

calibration services that are used to assure the quality of clinical laboratory processes. The

purpose of this case study is to assess the economic impacts of cholesterol-related standard

reference materials (SRMs) from NIST's Clinical Standards Program. 

Cardiovascular disease is a major health hazard in the U.S. The control of blood levels of 

cholesterol, especially the constituent known as “bad” cholesterol, is regarded by the medical

community as essential to good health. Accurate measurement of cholesterol and its constituents, 

therefore, is important to minimizing cardiovascular disease. 

A national quality control system, the National Reference System for Clinical

Laboratories (NRSCL), has evolved within the U.S. medical community and it’s supporting

industries to assure accurate measurement of cholesterol and other medically significant

constituents of blood. NIST has played an important part in that system by developing basic

measurement methods and standards as well as providing highly accurate reference materials to

assure the accuracy of cholesterol tests. 

The measurement technologies developed by NIST are highly accurate, complex, and

expensive compared to the measurement technologies typically used in high-volume cholesteroltesting laboratories. Assuring access to the most accurate measurement technologies across the

supply chain—from measurement system manufacturers, to clinical laboratories, to medical

service providers—is essential for controlling the disparities in measurement accuracy among

laboratories. In the absence of public sector efforts to make these measurement technologies 

widely available, it is unlikely that the private sector would have undertaken a similar

investment. Even in the late 70’s, more than 10 years after the release of the first NIST

cholesterol standard, industry still faced a wide array of analysis methods that could be

implemented in instrumentation and laboratory analysis processes. Within the private sector,

incentives to share information about the relative attributes of these measurement technologies
ES–2

were low. Where such incentives existed—for example between measurement system suppliers

and potential clinical laboratory customers—the cost of comparing and verifying such

information was high. 

The economic consequences of NIST’s Cholesterol Standards Program are experienced at 

four levels in the supply chain that ultimately delivers medical services to the consumer. First,

due to the availability of highly accurate cholesterol reference materials, manufacturers of

cholesterol measurement systems (including measurement instruments and the complementary

diagnostic chemicals used with them) experience lower production costs than they would if

SRMs were not available from NIST. Second, in their interactions with measurement system

users (clinical laboratories) concerning the quality and accuracy of their products, measurement

system manufacturers face significantly lower transactions costs than they would if the accuracy

of their products was not “anchored” to nationally-recognized standards. Third, clinical

laboratories experience lower cost in maintaining their quality control and assurance systems.

Finally, consumers of medical services receive higher quality medical services in the form of

more accurate test results, because inaccurate cholesterol tests can lead to unnecessary medical

expenses and health risks. 

Conservative estimates of the economic impact of NIST’s investments on the first three

levels of the supply chain are shown in Table ES-1. 

Table ES-1—Economic Impact of NIST’s Cholesterol Standards Program

Performance Metric Lower-Bound Estimate

Net Present Value (1999 dollars) $3,573,812

Social Rate of Return 154%

Benefit-to-Cost Ratio (1999 dollars) 4.47

The benefits to industry resulting from NIST’s investments have changed over the more

than three decades in which NIST’s has been involved in cholesterol measurement.

Technological and other economic trends have biased the reported benefits in a downward
ES–3

direction. Among the most significant of these trends are the movement to “closed” automated

measurement systems, and the change in the composition of knowledge and skill levels within

clinical laboratories that has come about as a result of cost-cutting trends in the medical

community. 

The study timeframe for this analysis (1986-1999) covers only a part of the program’s life 

cycle. This biases the measured impacts downward because the benefits enjoyed by respondents

have declined relative to the earlier phase of the program’s history. Another source of downward 

bias in the impact calculations was the choice not to scale respondent’s estimates to reflect

benefits of their industry as a whole. The structure of the industry in question was not well

enough understood to justify such a procedure. 

Nevertheless, the results indicate that NIST has played an important economic role in

support of a national effort to monitor, measure, and control cholesterol levels, thereby

contributing to reduced levels of cardiovascular disease. 
The Economic Impacts of NIST’s 

Cholesterol Standards Program

1. INTRODUCTION

The focus of this economic impact assessment is NIST’s Clinical Standards Program, the 

cholesterol family of Standard Reference Materials (SRMs), and associated measurement

methodologies, in particular. NIST has developed accurate and precise analytical methods

(“definitive methods”) for measuring the purity and concentration of various chemical

compositions (commonly referred to as “analytes”) in human specimens. These methodologies

provide the foundation for a nation-wide system assuring the accuracy of health-related testing.

NIST also procures vials of chemical materials, verifies the assay and the purity or concentrations 

of these materials using its definitive method, and distributes these materials through its Standard 

Reference Materials Program. 

Every day, in hundreds of thousands of physician’s offices and hospitals across the

nation, tests of human specimen are performed to diagnose, monitor, or treat health problems.

NIST cholesterol-related SRMs are used throughout the clinical laboratory supply chain—from 

instrument manufacturers to hospital laboratories—to assure the accuracy of cholesterol

measurement. The accuracy of these clinical testing procedures has been the subject of public

concern and regulation for over a decade. Current guidance by public health organizations

suggests that adults at low risk for cardiovascular disease have cholesterol tests repeated every 5

years. If the original screening results misclassify a person with abnormal values into the 

acceptable range, the excess risk may go undetected for an extended period of time.1

To assure the accuracy of various diagnostic tests, a regimen of standard quality assurance 

practices has evolved within the health care community. This National Reference System for

Clinical Laboratories (NRSCL) is an evolving system of private, public, and academic

institutions that seek to promote consistency of laboratory results within all clinical laboratory

 

1

 M. Dominiczak and J. McNamara, “The System of Cardiovascular Prevention,” in Nader Rifai, et al., Handbook 
2

disciplines. The goal of the NRSCL is the harmonization of clinical laboratory measurement so

that the clinically significant characteristics of an analyte are equivalent among all medical

institutions.2

In the case of cholesterol measurement, NIST plays an important role in this national

reference system, primarily by providing standards for cholesterol of known assay and purity to

manufacturers of cholesterol-testing products and to the clinical laboratories that utilize

cholesterol-testing products.3

The Clinical Standards Program is part of a much larger effort by NIST’s Chemical

Science and Technology Laboratory (CSTL) to help the U.S. chemical manufacturing, energy,

health care, biotechnology, food processing, and materials processing industries to meet the

broad range of international measurement requirements and compete in global markets. CSTL is 

one of seven operating units in NIST’s Measurement and Standards Laboratories (MSL). It

performs leading-edge research in measurement science; develops and maintains measurement

methods, standards, and reference data; and develops models for chemical, biochemical, and

physical properties and processes. 

CSTL’s Analytical Chemistry Division engages in the development and evaluation of

measurement methods of known accuracy, precision, sensitivity, and selectivity. The resulting 

reference methodologies provide the foundation for the certification of chemical composition in

more than 850 Standard Reference Materials important to U.S. industry, government agencies,

and educational institutions. The Division’s cholesterol-related activities are central to its

Clinical Standards Program. 

This report assesses the economic impacts of NIST’s cholesterol SRMs at three of four

levels in the medical services supply chain: in the development of cholesterol measurement

 

of Lipoprotein Testing, AACC Press, 1997, pp. 60-74.

2

The Reference System for the Clinical Laboratory: Criteria for Development and Credentialing of Methods and 

Material for Harmonization of Results; Proposed Guideline, NRSCL 13-P, Vol. 15, No. 12, December 1995, p. 

ix.

3 An “assay” is defined by the National Council of Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) as the quantitative 

determination of the amount, activity, or potency of a constituent. (See, NCCLS, (NRSCL 8-P3) October 17, 

1996.)
3

system products; in the clinical laboratories’ cost of quality; and in the transactions and

communications between manufacturers and clinical labs. 

In Chapter 2, we discuss the economic importance of accurately measuring cholesterol

and the sources of cholesterol measurement inaccuracy; the evolution of a national infrastructure 

to assure traceability to national standards of measurement accuracy, and NIST’s role in the

national infrastructure dedicated to cholesterol measurement. Chapter 3 describes the industry

supply chain and discusses some of the trends that have caused relations between suppliers of

measurement technologies and their users to change over time. In Chapter 4, the approach to

measuring the impacts of the cholesterol SRMs program is described and hypothesized outcomes 

are discussed. Chapter 5 presents the quantitative and qualitative findings of the study survey.

Finally, the quantitative analysis of the economic impact of NIST’s investments is presented in

Chapter 6.
4

2. THE ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF ACCURATE CHOLESTEROL 

MEASURMENT 

2.1 CHOLESTEROL AND HEALTH 

Proper health care for all Americans is both a policy objective of the U.S. government

and an important foundation for continued prosperity.4 Poor health care costs lives and affects

economic growth. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) includes heart disease and stroke. In 1997,

heart disease in the U.S. was responsible for the deaths of 725,000 persons over the age of 22.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for persons 65 and over. It is the second leading cause 

of death for persons 45 and over. 5 The cost of heart disease in the United States in 1999 was

estimated at $215 billion.6

One of the most important means of minimizing the risks of heart attacks and heart

disease is maintaining desirable cholesterol levels in the bloodstream. Medical experts consider

the provision of precise and accurate measurement of cholesterol, “an essential component of a

cardiovascular disease prevention system.”7 Some believe that national and international efforts

to contain cardiovascular disease, through the development and enforcement of measurement

standards over the past three-to-four decades, may be regarded as one of clinical chemistry’s

greatest contribution to public health.8

To assure the accuracy of various diagnostic tests, a regimen of standard quality assurance 

practices has been developed by the health care community. Under the sponsorship of the

National Council of Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS), a National Reference System for

 

4

“Investing in people” (education and health care) is one of three crucial elements of the Clinton Administration’s 

economic strategy. See Economic Report of the President, February 1998, pp. 3-5.

5

 CDC, National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 48, Table 33, “Leading causes of death and numbers of deaths,

 according to age: United States, 1980 and 1997.”

6

 This figure includes health expenditures (direct costs, which include the cost of physicians and other 

professionals, hospital and nursing home services, the cost of medications, home health and other medical 

durables) and lost productivity resulting from morbidity and mortality (indirect costs). 2000 Heart and Stroke

Statistical Update, American Heart Association, http://www.americanheart.org/statistics/index.html (July 20, 

2000)

7

 M. Dominiczak and J. McNamara, “The System of Cardiovascular Prevention,” in Nader Rifai, et al., Handbook 

of Lipoprotein Testing, AACC Press, 1997, pp. 60-74.

8 Nader Rifai, et al., Handbook of Lipoprotein Testing, AACC Press, 1997, pp. xxi.
5

Clinical Laboratories (NRSCL) has evolved.9 The NRSCL is a system of private, public, and

academic institutions that seek to promote consistency of laboratory results within all clinical

laboratory disciplines. The goal of the NRSCL is the harmonization of clinical laboratory 

measurement so that the clinically significant characteristics of an analyte are equivalent among

all medical institutions. 

In 1985, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched the National Cholesterol

Education Program (NCEP) and the NCCLS established that National Reference System for

Cholesterol (NRS/CHOL) in support of efforts of the NCEP. The NRS/CHOL is one facet of the 

NRSCL. It is comprised of the NIST definitive method (the isotope dilution mass spectrometric

procedure (IDMS)), a CDC reference method (a modified Abell-Kendell method), a NISTcertified pure cholesterol reference material (SRM 911), and NIST-certified serum-based 

secondary reference materials (e.g., SRM 909, SRM 1951 and SRM 1952).10

NIST’s development and distribution of widely accepted reference materials (NIST’s socalled standard reference materials or SRMs) have made a significant contribution to these

developments. These reference materials are used by manufacturers and clinical laboratories to

gauge their measurement systems to a substance of known and extremely high purity or to known 

and accurate concentrations.

2.2 SOURCES OF CHOLESTEROL MEASUREMENT INACCURACY11

There are multiple sources of error in the measurement of cholesterol. The reliability of

cholesterol measurement depends on how well potential sources of error are controlled,

beginning with factors that occur before samples are taken and laboratory analysis is undertaken. 

 

9 The NCCLS is an international, interdisciplinary, nonprofit, standards-developing and educational organization 

that promotes the development and use of voluntary consensus standards and guidelines within the healthcare 

community.

10 Recommendations for Improving Cholesterol Measurement (A Report from the Laboratory Standardization 

Panel of the National Cholesterol Education Program), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 

National Institutes of Health, NIH Publication No. 93-2964, January 1993, p. 21.

11 Unless otherwise noted, the material in this section is based on, Recommendations for Improving Cholesterol 

Measurement (A Report from the Laboratory Standardization Panel of the National Cholesterol Education 

Program), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, NIH Publication No. 

93-2964, January 1993.
6

“Error” refers to the factors that can alter a measurement such that it does not reflect a patient’s

usual cholesterol level or normal metabolic state. There are two broad categories of error: preanalytic and analytic error. 

2.2.1 Pre-analytical Issues

Pre-analytic error is the primary cause of error in cholesterol measurement but it is not the 

easiest to control. Pre-analytic factors include: intra-individual biological variation, pregnancy,

trauma, surgery, acute illness, chronic diseases, diet, acute exercise, and mediation as well as the 

conditions of patient preparation, sample collection, sample handling, storage, and shipment to

the laboratory. Factors that contribute to the patients usual cholesterol levels include age, sex,

and body weight; behavioral factors such as diet, alcohol use and exercise; genetic factors and

chronic medical disorders.

2.2.2 Analytical Issues

Analytical variation, or “laboratory error,” refers to errors associated with cholesterol

measurement procedures themselves. National efforts to standardize cholesterol have focused on 

improving the analytical accuracy of laboratories and minimizing inter-laboratory variations. The 

major components of a clinical laboratory’s analytic system are as follows:

• Method or sequence of chemical reactions

• Reagent

• Measurement instrument

• Approach to calibration.

Each of these components is discussed in turn.

By the early 1990s, enzymatic methods had replaced “wet chemistry” methods in most

clinical laboratories.12 These enzymatic methods are less corrosive than wet chemistry methods

 

12 This implies a degree of homogeneity among clinical laboratory practices that was not always the case. When 

NIST first became involved in cholesterol measurement standardization, the situation regarding methods was 

characterized as chaotic by one observer. See, B. Zak, “Cholesterol Methodologies: A Review,” Clinical 
7

and thus do not tend to degrade the performance of the instrument as previous methods did. The 

specific enzymatic method has unique characteristics that interact with the analyte or other

aspects of the specimen to influence measurement results. The microbial source of the enzyme,

as well as the concentrations of other chemicals in the specimen matrix, can also affect the

accuracy of cholesterol measurement.

The reagents are highly complex mixtures. Their design is affected by considerations

other than accuracy, such as cost and convenience. Reagents can also be a source of analytical

error in cholesterol measurement. Instability, chemical or biological contamination, changing

composition of purchased reagents and improper storage of reagents can affect accuracy.

A wide variety of instruments are used in clinical laboratories. They are comprised of

sophisticated mechanical, optical, and electronic subsystems. Inherent errors in these subsystems 

can cause variation in the measurements reported by different instruments. The nature of the

pipetting device used in sample preparation; the consistency of temperature control; the

characteristics of the spectrophotometer; the approach to isolating particular wavelengths; and

the sophistication of microprocessors in controlling and monitoring various instrument functions 

can all influence the accuracy and precision of instrumentation. 

As late as 1993, the NCEP reported that accurate calibration remained a major problem in 

clinical laboratories. The approach to calibration is a major factor in determining the overall

accuracy of a system. It is essential that manufacturers link the accuracy of their systems to the

accuracy base of the NRS/CHOL. NIST’s SRMs are typically used by manufacturers (and

clinical laboratories) to assign (or check) concentration values in the calibrators they sell to

calibrate the instruments and reagents and, thereby, to assure they are performing accurately (i.e., 

that they are maintaining a linear relationship between response and concentration).

 

Chemistry, Vol. 23, No. 7, 1977, pp. 1201-1214.
8

2.3 NIST’S ROLE IN CHOLESTEROL MEASUREMENT STANDARDIZATION

2.3.1 Chronology of Significant Events

NIST engages in the development of materials and methodologies that are used by

clinical testing facilities across the United States—indeed, throughout the world—to assure

accurate medical testing and evaluation. One critical area in which NIST has made important

contributions to advances in measurement and reliability is that of cholesterol testing. NIST has

made contributions in several respects, including the development of the definitive method, a

highly specialized analytical method with a comprehensive accuracy assessment, and the

development and sale of a family of cholesterol standard reference materials tied to the definitive 

method. The SRMs have been widely used for assuring the accuracy of manufacturer’s

cholesterol testing systems, specifically for assigning cholesterol concentration values to

commercially marketed “calibrators” that accompany an instrument, providing the user with a

traceable measurement system. These calibrators are designed to calibrate the reagents used in

measurement instruments.13 In addition to assuring the accuracy of the values assigned to NIST’s 

SRMs, the definitive method is the ultimate source of accuracy and reliability in national clinical 

laboratory blood sample assays.14

As indicated in Table 1, NIST’s involvement with cholesterol begins in the mid-1960s. At that 

time, the clinical chemistry community had expressed the need to formulate specifications for a 

standard to be used for conducting cholesterol assays. NIST cooperated with the American 

Society of Clinical Pathology and the American Association for Clinical Chemists.

 

13 To use a mechanical analogy, these chemical calibrators serve the same function that a precision metal cube 

(standard) serves for the user of a micrometer. The linear measurement of the standard is assigned by the 

manufacture of the micrometer. To assure that the micrometer is measuring properly it is applied to the “known” 

length of the metal standard. If the reading on the micrometer is not the same as the known value of the standard, 

the micrometer scales are re-adjusted accordingly. The calibrator, in a chemical measurement system, serves the 

same function except that rather than assuring a true measure of “length” the calibrator provides a true 

(“definitive”) measure of the concentration of cholesterol in a matrix solution. That value assigned to the 

calibrator (a “secondary” reference material) is assigned on the basis of the NIST primary standard, also known 

as a Standard Reference material (SRM).

14 In cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), a network of clinical reference laboratories (known 

as the Cholesterol Reference Method Laboratory Network—CRMLN) periodically assesses the cholesterol 

content of fresh patient blood samples and checks these against more sophisticated and accurate assessments 

made by the CDC. The CDC’s “reference method” is calibrated to NIST’s “definitive method.”
9

Table 1—Timeline of Significant Events in the Development of Cholesterol-related SRMs 

and the Definitive Method15

Date Event

1966 NIST participates with the American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP) and the American 

Association of Clinical Chemists (AACC) in specifying a standard for serum cholesterol

assays.

1966-67 NIST contracts for production of pure cholesterol specifying “Fieser’s Method.”

1967 NIST issues SRM 911 (99.4% + 0.3% pure).

1969 National Institutes of Health (NIH) funds NIST to development of a wide range standard

analytes for the purpose of improving clinical diagnosis.

NIST begins development of an atomic absorption spectroscopic (AAS) procedure as a

“referee method” for the determination of calcium in human serum. An isotope dilution mass 

spectrometric (IDMS) procedure, for calcium determinations, was developed at the same time 

as “an independent method of known accuracy” as required by the NIST certification process 

for SRMs. This IDMS method developed for calcium is known as a definitive method. A

NIST special publication was released in 1972. NIST then began the development of IDMS

definitive methods for the determination of glucose in serum, an organic analyte in an organic 

matrix.

1974 Food & Drug Administration (FDA) funds development of NIST’s IDMS capability as a

definitive method for several analytes viewed as critical to improving the evaluation of

clinical measurements.

1979-80 First organic IDMS method published.

1980 NIST uses its IDMS definitive method to assign 8 (of 17) analytes in human serum (SRM

909).

1982 Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) adopts the Abell-Kendall procedure as its

reference method because its values for cholesterol concentrations in serum differed only

slightly from those of the definitive method.

1986 The NIST DM is modified to incorporate new technology.16

1987 NIST-CDC cooperate in the development of SRM 1951 (cholesterol in human serum-frozen) 

and assign DM and RM values for total cholesterol.

1990 NIST-CAP cooperate in development of SRM 1952a (cholesterol in human serum- freeze

dried) and assign DM values for total cholesterol

1991 NIST assigns 11 analytes to SRM 909a (human serum-freeze dried) using its IDMS/DM.

1996 NIST assigns 13 analytes to SRM 909b (freeze-dried human serum) using definitive methods.

1997 NIST certifies cholesterol in SRM 1951a (lipids in fresh-frozen human serum), developed

through a subcommittee project of NCCLS, involving NIST, CDC, CAP, and the clinical

instrument manufacturers.

 

15 Robert Schaffer, et al., “History of NIST’s Contribution to Development of Standard Reference Materials and 

Reference and Definitive Methods for Clinical Chemistry,” Clinical Chemistry, Vol. 41, No. 9, 1995.

16 P. Ellerbe, et al., “A Comparison of Results for Cholesterol in Human Serum Obtained by the Reference Method 

and by the Definitive Method of the National Reference System for Cholesterol,” Clinical Chemistry, Vol. 36, 

No. 2, 1990, p. 370. The DM was modified, in part, by replacing packed columns in the gas chromatograph with 

capillary columns and updating the mass spectrometer with improved technology. The procedure modification is 

described in, P. Ellerbe, et al., “Determination of Serum Cholesterol by a Modification of the Isotope Dilution 

Mass Spectrometric Definitive Method,” Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 61, pp 1718-23.
10

Chemistry in developing such specifications. NIST arranged for the manufacture of pure

cholesterol, produced according to a specified process (the so-called “Fieser method”); assessed

the purity of the material; and issued the cholesterol as SRM 911 in 1967. The success of this

effort led the clinical chemistry community to fund NIST’s development of a number of

reference materials for other analytes considered important to practicing clinical chemists.

In cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the College of American

Pathologists (CAP), NIST became further involved in the development of reference methods and 

definitive methods for the accurate assessment of health-related analytes and the chemical

composition of materials that contain them. NIST developed additional cholesterol SRMs in

recognition of shortcomings of cholesterol measurement nationally and of efforts to establish

better traceability for clinical laboratories making these measurements.

NIST’s efforts during the 1980s paralleled a growing national awareness of both the

health hazards associated with cardiovascular disease and the need to address clinical diagnostic

practices at the national level. A report by NIH/NCEP’s Laboratory Standardization Panel in

1988 concluded that “considerable inaccuracy” in cholesterol testing existed in the United States. 

Estimates from various testing and monitoring organizations suggested that the range of

inaccuracy at the time could have been as high as 25 percent. The NCEP recommended attaining 

higher accuracy levels by 1992.

The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act (CLIA) of 1988 established standards designed 

to improve quality of clinical laboratory testing in U.S. laboratories that conduct tests on human

specimens for health assessment or for diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of disease. CLIA

mandates proficiency testing as a means to externally validate the quality of a laboratory’s

performance. Each laboratory is challenged in three testing events annually. Several initiatives

have been instituted to support this proficiency testing and as a result a national reference system 

as emerged to provide clinical laboratories and their suppliers with traceability to NIST’s

definitive methodology.

Since 1988, accuracy and consistency have improved. The U.S. General Accounting

Office (GAO) concluded in a 1994 report that under controlled conditions, research facilities,
11

clinical laboratories and hospital laboratories generally had “reasonably accurate and precise”

measurement of cholesterol levels in test samples. In 1995, the NCEP issued national

performance criteria for components of cholesterol measurement: Triglycerides, HDL and LDL.

NIST’s Cholesterol Standards Program has continued to develop SRMs to meet the increasingly

demanding metrological challenges of the clinical laboratory community.

2.3.2 Clinical Laboratory Traceability for Cholesterol

As depicted in Figure 1, NIST’s SRMs and the definitive method constitute the “accuracy 

base” of a system of traceability that runs from NIST; to cholesterol system manufacturers and

public organizations, like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the and

quasi-public College of American Pathologists (CAP, an industry association of medical

pathologists17); and, ultimately, to the hospitals, physician offices, and independent laboratories

where cholesterol tests are actually performed. Traceability is very important to those engaged in 

any kind of demanding measurement process. Traceability means that the standard used to set

values of purity or concentration can be traced back to a recognized and well-established 

standard of high purity or accuracy. 

The cornerstone of cholesterol traceability is NIST’s definitive method. For a method to

be considered definitive it must have been subjected to an extensive investigation and evaluation 

for sources of inaccuracy. The sources of inaccuracy and their range must be documented. The

mean value of the definitive method is considered to be the “true value.” The definitive method

developed for cholesterol determinations, as well as other clinically important analytes is Isotope 

Dilution Mass Spectrometry (IDMS). Typically, IDMS is labor intensive, expensive, and requires 

highly specialized instrumentation and analysis. Its costs are prohibitive and its methods too time 

consuming to be used in a clinical setting.18

 

17 Pathologists are medical doctors who specialize in laboratory medicine. They are experts in the use of laboratory 

tests to diagnose and treat disease. Pathologists, as the directors of medical laboratories, are responsible for 

sophisticated laboratory tests on samples of tissues or fluids, and the quality and accuracy of the results.

18 The NIST definitive method involves a very precise technique that specifically measures cholesterol 

concentrations. It is very costly in terms of time and skill level as well as in the instrumentation required. Most 

clinical laboratories do not have the instrumentation, the highly skilled scientists, or the time to perform this 

definitive method. 
12

Figure 1—Traceability to NIST’s Cholesterol Accuracy Base

NIST’s role in the national reference system of clinical laboratories is two-fold. First,

NIST’s definitive method is used to anchor the results of collective quality control and assurance 

efforts such as proficiency tests required of clinical laboratory systems by Federal law.19The 

Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act of 1988 (commonly referred to in the medical industry as

“CLIA”), directs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to adopt standards

under which clinical laboratories subject to CLIA ‘88 will operate. According to clinical

laboratory experts:

[CLIA] established standards designed to improve the quality of clinical

laboratory testing in U.S. laboratories that conduct testing on human specimens

for health assessment or for the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of disease.

CLIA mandates proficiency testing as a means to externally validate the quality

of a laboratory’s performance. Each participating laboratory is challenged in

 

19 The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act of 1988, Pub.L.No. 100-578, codified at 42 U.S.C. 263a (CLIA '88). 

CDC

Network Labs (6)

NIST/CSTL

Manufacturers

Hospitals and Clinical Laboratories

(thousands)

Certification and QC

Instruments and Reagents Certification and QC

SRMs and Definitive Method

Certification and QC

SRMs

and other measurement

services

Abell-Kendall

 Reference Method
13

three testing events annually. In each test event, 5 unknown samples of each

analyte or test are provided.20

NIST’s definitive method plays an important part in the national proficiency program for

clinical laboratories mandated by CLIA. Some 15 public and private laboratories and

organizations are authorized to administer CLIA-approved testing programs. The College of

American Pathologists (CAP) is one such organization. CAP administers the Laboratory

Accreditation Program which examines all aspects of quality assurance in the laboratory,

including methodology, reagents, control media, equipment, specimen handling, procedure

manuals, reports and proficiency testing, personnel, safety, and the overall management

principles that distinguish a quality laboratory.21 Upon successful completion of the inspection

process, the laboratory is awarded CAP accreditation. CAP’s proficiency tests for cholesterol are 

anchored to the NIST definitive method.

NIST’s definitive method also provides the accuracy base for CDC’s cholesterol

measurement system certification program (the Cholesterol Reference Method Laboratory

Network, or CRMLN).22 The CRMLN, in turn, assures that manufacturers are transferring the

accuracy base to their “calibrators” and that reagents used in measurement instruments are

calibrated properly. In other words, CRMLN assures that the reagents, and the instrument 

systems of which they are a part, are accurately “reading” the cholesterol concentrations of

samples.

NIST’s other important role in the national reference system is to organize the production, 

assessment, and quality assurance of primary and secondary reference materials.23

 

20 G. Myers, et al., “Standardization of Lipid and Lipoprotein Measurements,” in Nader Rifai, et al., Handbook of 

Lipoprotein Testing, AACC Press, 1997, p. 239-40.

21 College of American Pathologists, www.cap.org

22 There are 6 labs in the CRMLN: University. of Wisconsin (State Laboratory of Hygiene); Northwest Lipid 

Research Laboratories (Seattle); Wadsworth Center for Laboratories and Research (New York State Department 

of Health); Washington University School of Medicine; Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on 

Aging at Tufts University; Pacific Biometrics Research Foundation. See, G. Meyer, "Standardization of Lipid 

and Lipoprotein Measurement," in Rifai, et al, (ed.) Handbook of Lipoprotein Testing (1997), page 237. 

23 By definition, a “reference material” is a material or substance, one or more of whose property values are 

sufficiently homogeneous and well established to be used for the calibration of an apparatus, the assessment of a 

measurement method, or for assigning values to materials. A “certified reference material” (CRM) is a reference 

material, accompanied by a certificate, one or more of whose property values are certified by a procedure which 

establishes its traceability to an accurate realization of the unit in which the property values are expressed, and for 
14

Figure 2—Traceability Hierarchy of Measurement Methods

NIST reference materials are trademarked as “standard reference materials” (SRMs).

Figure 2 shows the relationship between the definitive method for measuring cholesterol

concentration and all other applied methods and “standards.”

NIST SRMs are used by cholesterol measurement system manufacturers for both internal 

and external quality assurance. Internally, the company uses SRMs to assign cholesterol

concentration values to its calibrators to eliminate bias and to ensure that readings which users

obtain are accurate and traceable to NIST. A company also uses SRMs externally with its

 

which each certified value is accompanied by an uncertainty at a stated level of confidence. The term “standard 

reference material” (SRM) is the Trademark name of a certified reference material that has been certified and is 

Basic Units

Definitive Methods

Primary

Reference

Materials

Reference Methods

Secondary

Reference

Methods

Field Methods

• Reference method

development

• Production of highaccuracy, secondary

reference materials

• Critical quality assurance

applications

• Field method

development

• Preparation of working

reference materials

• Routine quality

assurance

Field Applications
15

customers as part of a quality assurance function. In this role, the company interacts with users 

in performing “trouble-shooting” and dispute resolution arising, for example, from a rigorous

proficiency test requirement to which many clinical laboratories are subject under (CLIA). 

Of primary concern to this study are NIST’s cholesterol reference material (99.9percent

pure cholesterol—SRM 911) and NIST’s human serum reference materials (various analytes of

known concentration, including cholesterol, in frozen and freeze-dried human blood—SRMs 

909, 1951, and 1952).24 Manufacturers utilize NIST SRMs primarily in the development,

production, and quality assurance of calibrators, one of the three classes of the diagnostic

chemicals used to support cholesterol measurement instruments.25

 

distributed by the NIST.

24 The terms “reference material,” “calibration material,” and “calibrator,” are equivalent terms. “Primary 

standard,” “secondary standard,” are the international terms for what the NCCLS, the national clinical laboratory 

standards body, calls “calibration material.” See, NCCLS, (NRSCL 8-P3) October 17, 1996. 

For the purposes of this report, we will use the term “reference material” followed by some organizational or 

functional information that allows the reader to asses “distance” from the NIST accuracy base. An important 

distinction will be between commercial “calibrators” (formally “secondary calibrators,” defined by NCCLS as, a 

substance or device that is based on a reference preparation, or in which the analyte concentration or other quality 

has been determined by a formal analytical procedure of stated reliability) and those available from public or 

quasi-public organizations, such as industry and professional associations.

25 The dominant instrument manufacturers produce a measurement device that measures multiple analytes, 

cholesterol being just one of these. Instrument manufacturers also typically produce the diagnostic chemicals with 

which the instrument “reads” analyte qualities (reagents), such as concentration, and with which the machine’s 

accuracy (calibrators) and total analysis process (controls) are monitored for stability and accuracy. Reagents 

tend to be analyte-specific. Calibrators and controls are not analyte-specific.
16

3. INDUSTRY SUPPLY CHAIN

Figure 3 identifies three levels of the industry supply chain that are affected by NIST’s

clinical standards programs: diagnostic chemical manufacturers; instrument system

manufacturers; and clinical laboratories (the latter consisting of three distinct sub-sectors).26

Based on a review of SRM sales data, we estimate that chemical manufacturers and instrument

manufacturers purchase roughly one third of the cholesterol family of SRMs. Another large

fraction appears to have been purchased by independent and hospital-based clinical

laboratories.27

3.1 CLINICAL LABORATORIES28

There are more than 171,000 clinical laboratories in the U.S.29 The clinical laboratory 

industry is comprised of three major types of laboratories:

• Hospital laboratories

• Independent laboratories

• Physician’s office laboratories (POLs).

 

26 It was anticipated that program impacts on a fourth tier of the supply chain—recipients of cholesterol testing 

services (patients)—would be assessed. Survey participants were unable to provide estimates of trends in 

misclassifications that result in duplicate testing costs. Cholesterol measurement experts were unable to identify 

studies that related improvements in cholesterol measurement to misclassification trends.

27 The fraction purchased by clinical laboratories is difficult to estimate for three reasons. First, the number of 

organizations is very large and there is not a standard list that would allow the identification of all clinical 

laboratories. Even if this were the case, buying organizations purchase under multiple names making an accurate 

matching of names to purchasing organizations unreliable. Second, due to extensive consolidation in the 

independent clinical laboratory segment of the clinical laboratory industry, organizational names appear to have 

changed considerably. Third, hospital laboratories are only occasionally identified as such. Many are associated 

with universities. We assume that many university purchasers are hospitals but certainly university researchers 

also purchase cholesterol-related SRMs for a number of reasons. 

28 Unless otherwise indicated, the source of information on the clinical laboratory industry is, Thomas Hoerger, et 

al., Background Report on the Clinical Laboratory Industry, Research Triangle Institute, Oct. 1996.

29 Health Care Finance Administration (HCFA), Oscar Database, July 21, 2000.
17

Figure 3—The Relevant Supply Chain for Cholesterol SRMs

Hospital laboratories provide laboratory services to hospital in-patients and out-patients. 

Independent laboratories process specimens on referral from physicians and transport them to

central facilities for batch processing. POLs typically service their owners’ medical practices,

providing quick test results for low complexity tests. More complex tests are typically referred to 

hospital or independent laboratories.30

 

30 The clinical laboratory industry is comprised of elements of the Medical Laboratories industry (SIC 8071) as 

defined in the Standard Industrial Classification system.

Hospital

Laboratories

Independent

Commercial

Laboratories

Physician

Office

Laboratories Clinical

Laboratories

Instrument

Manufacturers

Cholesterol

Measurement

Instrument

Systems

Reagents,

Calibrators,

and

Controls Diagnostic

Chemical

Manufacturers
18

There are over 8,000 CLIA-certified hospital laboratories in the country; almost 90,000

certified POLs; and over 5,000 certified independent laboratories. Among the independent

laboratories, LabCorp, Quest Diagnostics, and SmithKline-Beecham are believed to control

almost 60 percent of the national independent laboratory market.31 Annual revenues of the

clinical laboratory industry have been estimated at $30-35B (1995) with approximately 50

percent going to hospitals; 26 percent to independent labs and ~24 percent going to POLS. 

3.2 INSTRUMENT MANUFACTURERS

The term “measurement system” refers to the hardware and software that comprise a

measurement instrument and the complementary diagnostic chemicals (reagents, calibrators, and

controls) that allow the instrument to “read” the attributes of the target sample. The system’s

suite of diagnostic chemical are also used to assess the accuracy of the instrument as well as the

larger measurement procedure of which the instrument is a part.

Cholesterol measurement systems belong to a class of measurement instrument

commonly referred to within the industry as “general chemistry” instruments. General chemistry

instruments are increasingly automated, offer an ever-widening array of tests, and the technology

is changing more rapidly than ever before.32 Manufacturers compete to provide clinical users

with measurement instruments that perform a wide range of analytical tests rapidly and that

eliminate as much preparatory and post-processing expense as possible. (Examples of such preand post-processing expense include the elimination of time-consuming and error-prone steps for 

reconstituting reagents to make solutions, or to prepare dilutions from more concentrated

solutions; minimization of reagent waste; reagent storage; and specimen identification, labeling,

 

31 As of 1996, these three independent laboratories controlled a number of well-known independent clinical 

laboratories. Corning Life Science controlled: MetPath, Damon, Nichols Institute, Clinical Pathology Facility, 

DeYor CPF, Associated Clinical, Clinical Labs of Lincoln, and Pharmaceutical Laboratory Services. LabCorp 

controlled: National Health Laboratories, Allied Clinical Labs, Roche Biomedical Labs, Reference Pathology 

Laboratory, Physician Clinical Laboratories, Sierra Nevada Laboratories, and Suburban Pathology Laboratories. 

During the course of this study, consolidation among the large independent laboratories continued: Corning and 

SmithKline-Beecham were purchased by Quest Diagnostics in 1999. 

32 M. Dominiczak and J. McNamara, “The System of Cardiovascular Prevention,” in Nader Rifai, et al., Handbook 

of Lipoprotein Testing, AACC Press, 1997, pp. 60-74; Carl A. Burtis, “Converging Technologies and Their 

Impact on the Clinical Lab,” Clinical Chemistry, Vol. 42, No. 11, 1996, pp. 1735-1749.
19

handling, delivery, transport, storage, retrieval).33 In the face of rapid technological change, some 

observers believe that an emphasis on quality control is increasingly important.34

3.3 THE MARKET FOR CHOLESTEROL DIAGNOSTICS

The market for cholesterol measurement systems is complex and fragmented. Instrument

manufacturers also produce (or distribute under proprietary label) the diagnostic chemicals

required to calibrate, operate, and perform quality control on their instruments. Some instrument

manufacturers have designed “open” systems, capable of utilizing the diagnostic chemicals of

competing instrument manufacturers or of diagnostic chemical vendors. Others maintain

“closed” systems.35

While the instruments themselves are multifunctional, the diagnostic chemicals or

reagents are analyte-specific. According to industry representatives, calibrators, and controls

typically are applicable to a number of different analytes. 

Industry representatives estimate that in 1997 the worldwide market for diagnostic

chemicals (reagents, calibrators and controls) was approximately $4.3 billion. The U.S. market is 

estimated to constitute some 40 percent of that total, or $1.7 billion. Industry representatives

estimate that the value of the cholesterol-related diagnostic chemical market alone is

approximately $100 million a year, 95 percent of which is estimated to be reagents, with

calibrators and controls comprising the remaining 5 percent. Some 75 percent of the diagnostic

chemical market is believed to be controlled by instrument manufacturers. Diagnostic chemical

vendors control the remaining 25 percent.

 

33 C. A. Burtis, “Converging technologies and their impact on the clinical lab,” Clinical Chemistry, Vol. 42, No. 11, 

1996, pp. 1735-1749; and “Advanced Technology and Its Impact on the Clinical Laboratory,” Clinical 

Chemistry, Vol. 33, No. 3, 1987.

34 Alejandro Macias and Lynne Garcia, “Progress in Clinical Laboratories,” Review of Clinical Investigations, Vol. 

47, No. 5, September-October 1995.

35 Among the leading cholesterol measurement system manufacturers, Dade Diagnostics, and Ortho Clinical have 
20

Table 2 identifies the major cholesterol measurement instrument manufacturers and

diagnostic chemical vendors.36

Table 2—Major Chemistry Instrument & Diagnostic Chemical Manufacturers

Instrument Manufacturers37 Diagnostic Chemical Vendors

Abbott Laboratories Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc

Bayer Corporation Diagnostic Chemicals Limited

Beckman Coulter, Inc. Daiichi Pure Chemicals Co., Limited

Roche Diagnostics/Boehringer Mannheim International Reagent Corporation

Dade International, Inc. King Diagnostics, Inc.

Olympus Optical Company New England Diagnostics

Ortho-Clinical Diagnostic Company Reagent Applications, Inc. (Raichem)

Pacific Biometrics, Inc. Shino-Test Co.

Sigma Chemical Company

Trace America, Inc.

Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Inc.

Table 3 provides estimates of the market shares of the dominant manufacturers of blood

chemistry measurement systems.

 

closed systems.

36 Instrument manufacturers produce both cholesterol-specific measurement instruments and multi-analyte 

instruments. As discussed in the text, most instrument manufacturers also produce and/or market the diagnostic 

chemicals that accompany their instruments. No attempt was made to identify the product models associated with 

each manufacturer and the shares of these instruments command for each of the three distinct market niches 

(hospital labs, physician office laboratories, and independent labs). Instruments and their related diagnostic 

chemicals are complementary. 

37 Instrument manufacturers also manufacture and/or market the complementary diagnostic chemicals (reagents, 

calibrators, and controls) utilized in their instruments. 
21

Table 3—Chemistry Instrument Installed Base: Hospital & Commercial Labs38

Instrument Manufacturers 1995 1997

Dade International, Inc. 22% 26%

Beckman Coulter, Inc. 20% 22%

Roche Diagnostics/Boehringer Mannheim 20% 18%

Ortho-Clinical Diagnostic Company 15% 18%

Abbott Laboratories 7% 5%

Bayer Corporation 4% 3%

Others (including Olympus) 12% 8%

Total Market 100% 100%

3.4 CHANGES IN BUYER SUPPLIER RELATIONS: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE 

UTILITY OF NIST SRMs

By 1993, a well-defined and developed national system existed for assuring the

standardized measurement of cholesterol. The major features of this system were discussed

above. This section highlights some of the trends that have affected manufacturers and users of

cholesterol measurement systems over the years during which standardization emerged. 

As this national system matured with its proficiency testing program successfully in

place, commercially-provided secondary standards became more widely used by those

 

38 These data were provided by IMV Limited. There is no public source of statistics on the structure of the market 

for cholesterol-related measurement systems or cholesterol-related diagnostic chemicals. The installed base 

estimates provided by IMV Limited are poor indicators of the cholesterol-related measurement systems that are 

the specific focus of this impact assessment. First, cholesterol analysis is only a subset of chemistry analysis. 

Typically chemistry analyzers are multifunctional, multi-analyte instruments so these estimates are indicative of a 

much more broadly defined market. Second, the installed base estimates provided by IMV Limited do no include 

the installed base of a very large segment of the market—independent-testing laboratories. Third, the installed 

base of instruments does not accurately reflect test volume (because different machines have very different 

throughput capabilities) or, relatedly, the shares of diagnostic chemical sales controlled by manufacturers. 

Independent corroboration by a number of industry representatives and analysts suggest that while the share may 

be somewhat inaccurate indicator of the cholesterol measurement system market, the dominant firms in the target 

industry are represented in the table.
22

performing clinical testing. NIST SRMs were reserved for use at the highest level of the

traceability chain. The net result was that the routine use of SRMs declined. As discussed in

detail in Chapter 4, the timeframe selected for this economic impact assessment is one in which

the widespread use of NIST’s cholesterol SRMs was in decline. 

In 1949, a national survey on total cholesterol measurement among clinical laboratories

showed an inter-laboratory comparability of approximately 24 percent, reflecting a large

variability of measured cholesterol values from one institution to the next. By 1969 this

variability had decreased to 18.5 percent, and by 1983, to 6.4 percent. By the early 1990s, interlaboratory comparability ranged from 5.5 –7.2 percent, showing stability over the intervening

decade. 

When NIST became involved in the standardization of cholesterol measurement, no

consensus existed as to what analytic method most accurately measured cholesterol. In 1977,

clinical laboratories still faced a “quandary” when choosing among a variety of complex

measurement methods.39 The wide variety of analysis methods, in itself, would have been

sufficient to cause high variability in accuracy between clinical laboratories. At that time clinical 

laboratories were unregulated and far less cost-sensitive than they are today. They maintained inhouse capabilities to develop and implement a variety of complex analytic procedures. Many

developed their own diagnostic chemicals (reagents, calibrators, and controls) and performed

complex and labor intensive analysis functions. 

Simultaneously, instrument and chemical manufacturers were striving to incorporate a

variety of measurement methods into instrument systems that automated the labor-intensive 

processes performed in the clinical laboratories. Competition among manufacturers no doubt

emphasized the differences among measurement systems adding additional layers of complexity

to choices facing clinical laboratories. 

In addition to the trend toward standardization, in which NIST has played a prominent

part, two other trends have affected the manner in which NIST’s contributions to standardization 

have been realized. First, there was a shift within the community of manufacturers and users
23

from “wet chemistry” to “dry chemistry” measurement technologies. The wide introduction of

enzymatic reagents (dry chemistry) in the late 1960s early 1970s heralded a major change in the

“process technologies” with which cholesterol had been measured for 50 years. These dry

chemistry technologies had numerous advantages over traditional technologies.40 The cholesterol 

measurement methods that became the basis for national traceability in the early 1980s at NIST

and CDC are “wet chemistry” methods. While typically more accurate than dry chemistry

methods, these wet chemistry (or “strong acid” methods) were too complex and costly for the 

large volume requirements of the routine laboratory.41

With increasing automation and the movement to “closed systems,” in which

measurement instrument and related diagnostic chemicals are sold as an integrated system, the

wide use of NIST’s SRMs declined. The accuracy of diagnostic test kits that were marketed to

clinical laboratories was assessed by the manufacturer (rather than the clinical laboratory) either

directly or through the CDC system. In other words, as the Cholesterol SRMs program matured

SRMs were increasingly needed only at the highest level to provide traceability of the entire

system to NIST.

In retrospect, the technological trends favoring dry chemistry also had ramifications for

highly trained analytical chemists that determined the quality assurance practices of clinical

laboratories. The exodus of clinical chemists from clinical laboratories to manufacturers was

foreseen by one observer:

As regards their analytical role, clinical chemists should continue to perform

significant analytical function in the overall practice of laboratory medicine;

however, where they apply their analytical expertise may change. If advanced

instruments will be completed automated, have built-in quality assurance

capabilities, and be able to monitor their own performance and status, highly

trained personnel may not be needed in the laboratory to perform these

functions. However, these functions will shift to industry, to join method

development and evaluation, and will require trained personnel with expertise in 

research and development. Thus, the clinical chemists of the future will more

 

39 B. Zak, “Cholesterol Methodologies: A Review,” Clinical Chemistry, Vol. 23, No. 7, 1977, pp. 1201-1214.

40 C.A. Brutis, “New Technologies to Improve Laboratory Testing,” in E.W. Bermes (ed.) The Clinical Laboratory 

in the New Era, Washington, D.C., AACC Press, 1985.

41 B. Zak and J. D. Artiss, “Some Observations on Cholesterol Measurement in the Clinical Laboratory,” 

Microchemical Journal, Vol. 41, 1990, pp. 251-270.
24

probably be employed in industry than in a hospital. This translocation is

already occurring: a recent study by the American Association for Clinical

Chemistry found that, in 1976, 57% of new AACC members worked in

hospitals and 16% in industry; by 1982 these numbers had changed to 37%

(hospitals) and 36% (industry).

A second important trend that has unfolded along with the trend toward cholesterol

measurement standardization was an increasing emphasis on cost-control in the health care

industry. The health care industry has undergone a dramatic restructuring over the last two

decades in large part to contain the high and rising costs of US health care.42 With technological 

trends reducing the demand for the expertise of clinical chemists in the laboratory setting, and

cost-containment pressures being exerted throughout the healthcare industry, it is to be expected

that only the most essential and cost-effective quality practices would be retained in the clinical

laboratory environment. 

Today, NIST’s cholesterol SRMs remain an important part of the traceability chain for

clinical laboratories and cholesterol measurement system manufacturers. However, the

importance of NIST’s cholesterol SRMs is increasingly felt at a distance, through the CDC’s

manufacturers certification program for measurement system manufacturers. As explained in

section 2.3.2, NIST’s cholesterol SRM anchors the CRMLN’s assessment of cholesterol

measurement accuracy to the national standard of cholesterol purity. 

 

42 These trends were synthesized from a variety of sources and reported in NIST Planning Report 98-2, The 

Economics of a Technology-Based Service Sector, especially Chapter 7, “Case Study: Barriers to Technology 

Development and Implementation in the Health Care Industry,” pp. 121-141.
25

4. ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK

4.1 NIST’S CHOLESTEROL STANDARDS PROGRAM OUTPUTS

The primary outputs of NIST’s Cholesterol Standards Program being evaluated in this

report are the following cholesterol-related standard reference materials: SRM 911, SRM 909,

SRM 1951, and SRM 1952. NIST’s SRMs are widely used throughout the clinical laboratory

industry supply chain, primarily to assign cholesterol concentration values to commercial

secondary reference materials, also known as commercial calibrators. 

This economic impact assessment focuses on the use of these SRMs by manufacturers of 

cholesterol measurement systems, diagnostic chemical manufacturers, and the clinical

laboratories that use NIST SRMs to perform quality control and assurance. 

4.2 EVALUTION FRAMEWORK AND APPROACH

4.2.1 Cholesterol SRMs: Mitigation of Market Failures

The existence of market failures is the chief economic rationale for government

involvement in technology development activities.43 Traditionally, NIST has provided those

elements of an industry’s technology that must be shared in order to have a significant economic 

impact. Economists refer to such technologies as “infratechnologies.”44 Because of the “public

goods” character of such technology infrastructure (resulting from common use) private firms

tend to underinvest in its development. For a private firm, the problem of capturing sufficient

returns from investment in such a technology is accentuated by the prospect of several companies 

developing alternative infratechnologies (different approaches to performing the same test). Only

one version, or a hybrid of several versions, is eventually accepted as the industry standard so

investments in the other versions have to be written off.

 

43 R. G. Noll, “Economic Perspectives on the Politics of Regulation,” in Handbook of Industrial Organization, Vol. 

II, R. Schmalensee and R. Willig (Eds.) Elsevier 1989, pp. 1253-1287

44 G. Tassey, The Economics of R&D Policy, (Quorum Books) 1997.
26

Table 4 summarizes the market barriers that were at work within clinical laboratories and 

between clinical laboratories and the manufacturers of the cholesterol measurement systems they

utilize. A lack of standardized cholesterol measurement practices was largely responsible for the 

inadequate state of practice in cholesterol measurement across the nation in the late 1960s and

early 1970s. Two principle barriers stood in the way of standardization. First, a wide variety of

analysis techniques were available to clinicians and instrument designers and there was little

consensus on which would yield the best results, technically and commercially. Second, the

incentive to share information across companies in the same industry is typically low. Where the 

incentive exists, implementation can be difficult because the information provided is often

suspect. Suppliers of complex measurement systems, no doubt, had ample incentives to share 

Table 4—Economic Analysis Framework

Market Barriers Related NIST 

Outputs

Hypothesized 

Outcomes

Beneficiaries Benefit Measures Comparison 

Scenario

Excessive 

competition among 

alternative 

measurement 

methods and their 

implementations, 

leading to highercost, lower quality 

testing services 

nationwide.

SRMs 909, 911, 

1951, and 1952

Laboratory 

standardization on 

NIST reference 

materials (reduced 

variation in inter-lab 

accuracy).

Users and 

manufacturers of 

cholesterol 

measurement 

calibrators 

(secondary 

standards)

Cost avoidance in 

calibrator development,

production, and quality 

control

Development and 

validation of 

calibrators w/o NIST 

traceability 

High transaction 

costs from 

uncertainty over test 

information accuracy 

(information sharing 

difficulties). 

SRMs 909, 911, 

1951, and 1952

Transaction costs are 

lower due to

measurement 

uncertainty reductions 

from traceability to 

NIST

Manufacturers of 

cholesterol 

measurement 

systems and clinical 

users

Cost avoidance in 

buyer-seller 

interactions to establish 

calibrator or 

measurement system 

values when systems 

fail (i.e., “trouble 

shooting.") 

Process validation 

w/o NIST traceability

High transaction 

costs from 

uncertainty over test 

information accuracy 

(leading to repeat 

testing and incorrect 

diagnosis).

SRMs 909, 911, 

1951, and 1952

Transaction costs are 

lower due to

measurement 

uncertainty reductions 

from traceability to 

NIST

Manufacturers of 

cholesterol 

measurement 

systems and clinical 

users

Cost avoidance by 

clinical laboratories due 

to more 

efficient/effective 

quality control

Quality control 

process costs w/o 

NIST traceability
27

information about the quality of their products (vs. those of their rivals) with clinical testing

laboratories. But the credibility of information shared would be suspect and the cost of verifying

it would be high. Economists refer to these costs as transaction costs. 

Because of the lack of standardization, the public health risks of cardiovascular disease

were higher than desirable. From an economic perspective, the mitigation of these barriers was

the motivation for NIST’s involvement and investment in the development and dissemination of 

cholesterol SRMs. In the absence of NIST’s investments, inter-laboratory variation in the

accuracy of cholesterol measurements across the nation would have lagged behind what was

historically achieved and manufacturers would have born additional private costs in attempting to 

accurately assign cholesterol concentration levels to calibrators used with their measurement

systems. In addition, both cholesterol measurement system manufacturers and clinical

laboratories that use their products would have incurred additional costs in resolving disputes

with suppliers (“trouble-shooting”) concerning the sources of inaccuracies that occur in the

regular course of clinical measurement practice.

4.2.2 Comparison Scenario

Industry representatives perceive NIST as the ultimate basis, “the ground truth,” for the

levels of accuracy that has been achieved in the measurement of cholesterol. By the same token

they recognize that NIST is one facet of the larger national system—the National Reference

System for Cholesterol (NRS/CHOL)—that assures the accuracy and traceability of clinical

measurements. In the case of cholesterol SRMs, our surveys posited a counterfactual hypothesis

whereby the private sector organizations that rely upon NIST cholesterol SRMs were responsible 

for developing and implementing measurement alternatives to the products and analytical

services performed by NIST. 

It was difficult for industry representatives to clearly separate one component of the

national traceabilty system—the NRS/CHOL—from the whole and therefore to assess the

hypothetical cost implications of only one facet of the system being unavailable.
28

To respond, two counterfactual scenarios were adopted in the course of the survey phase

of the assessment: 

• NIST ceases to perform its functions in the national traceability chain but 

all other facets of the NRS/CHOL remained intact

• CDC replicates the functions currently performed by NIST.45

The costs estimated in both cases are interpreted to be the cost-avoidance benefits that

accrue to industry representatives as a result of the NIST program. Since the first of the two

hypotheses produced more conservative estimates, this scenario was used to assess the impact of 

the cholesterol SRMs program. 

4.2.3 Impact Estimation Timeframe

NIST’s involvement in cholesterol standards goes back more than 30 years. In estimating

the economic impact of projects with this temporal scope, difficulties are often encountered in

obtaining records or recollections of costs and benefits. This is true of both the cost (NIST) and

the benefits (industry) sides. Experience suggests that ~10 years from time of study is an outside 

temporal boundary for estimating costs and benefits unless relevant historical records are

available.

In 1986, NIST’s definitive method was significantly altered to update the technology.

This significant change in the capital stock of the program provided a convenient starting point

for the assessment timeframe. All pre-1986 investments are treated as “sunk costs.”46

Initially, the period from 1986 to the present appeared adequate for estimating the

economic impact of the program. Given this start date for the economic impact assessment, the

costs of updating the DM; the costs of maintaining the DM and all net costs associated with the 

 

45 An estimate of the cost of CDC replacing NIST (a surrogate for social the cost-avoidance benefits) was 

developed in communications between NIST and CDC. Personal correspondence with Dr. Ellyn Beary 

(NIST/CSTL), January 11, 2000. 

46 A sunk cost is an investment that produces a stream of benefits over a long period of time but can never be 

recouped. Because it can never be recouped it has no “economic value”—no alternative employment—and 

should, therefore, be ignored in our calculations of economic impact.
29

development, procurement, and maintenance of relevant SRM series could be accounted for.47

(The relevant SRM series are 911, 909, 1951, and 1952.) There are a number of releases

associated with each SRM. For example, 909a and 909b were developed and released following

the modification of the definitive method in 1986.) Other organizations (for example, CAP) have 

also made contributions to the development of some SRMs in the post-1986 timeframe.

It became clear during the survey phase of this study that the timeframe chosen for the

assessment biased the reported benefit estimates downward. Given the difficulties associated

with assessing NIST programs of long duration, we feel that the choice of timeframes was,

nevertheless, reasonable. Furthermore, the sentiment expressed by respondents concerning the

life-cycle of the cholesterol program’s value assures that the substantial benefit estimates

provided by respondents are a conservative assessment of the true value of the program to

society.

4.2.4 Hypothesized Outcomes

In the absence of NIST’s cholesterol SRMs, considerable expense would have to be

undertaken to replicate the process through which high-accuracy cholesterol calibrators are

produced, distributed, and used. It appears likely that the analytical methods developed and

utilized by NIST are uneconomical for the private sector to maintain and that many laboratories

today lack the capability to implement rigorous measurement methods. In part this is due to the

unit cost of highly accurate reference materials, and in part it is due to inherent limitations on the 

expected demand for reference materials produced and marketed by private sector firms.48 This

aspect of barriers to wider investment in infratechnologies affects both ends of the supply chain:

the manufacturers of measurement systems (whose use NIST, or NIST traceable, primary

 

47 The analytical capability represented by the definitive method is utilized to assign values to all organic reference 

material developed and distributed by NIST. Therefore, a fraction of the total cost associated with the 

modification and maintenance of the DM for cholesterol was estimated. Similarly, cholesterol is only one of 13 or 

more assigned analyte values for the SRM 909 series. SRM 911, 1951, and 1952 are constituents of cholesterol 

only. Only a fraction of the cost for development, maintenance, and distribution of the SRM 909 series was 

allocated to the Cholesterol Standards Program. 

48 It is believed that a private sector firm would be perceived as too opportunistic to take advantage of NIST’s 

independent “honest broker” status and that NIST’s extensive distribution of information concerning the analytic 

method (the so-called definitive methods) employed by NIST would be curtailed to limit access to what would be 

proprietary knowledge. 
30

reference materials to assign cholesterol concentration levels to secondary reference materials);

and the clinical laboratories that utilize SRMs to assure measurement quality control. 

Without NIST standards, and the definitive method that anchors the accuracy of those

reference materials, the capacity to perform accurate assignment of concentration values would

be diminished and additional quality control steps would be necessary in an attempt to assure

confidence in the values assigned. In addition, disputes that arise concerning the source of errors 

would be more frequent and more costly to resolve because more effort is required to establish

the source of the error and to assure that the error is not repeated. 

In addition to these intermediate impacts, in the absence of sufficient investment in

NIST’s infratechnologies patients would be uncertain of their health status and clinical

laboratories would be very uncertain about the quality of the measurement systems they employ. 

For manufacturers, the costs of quality control and quality assurance would be considerably

higher without NIST SRMs and the resolution of conflicts surrounding the quality of their

products and services would also be higher. In short, NIST’s cholesterol standards program

appears to substantially lower the cost of information that is critical to the pace and level of

cholesterol measurement-related transactions within the health community, especially between

clinical laboratories and their industrial suppliers. In the absence of high levels of quality

assurance, sales of measurement systems, sales of measurement services, and, ultimately, the

health of the population would certainly suffer.

To summarize, the benefits of NIST’s Cholesterol Standards Program were formulated in 

terms of the following hypotheses: 

• Availability of SRMs to measurement system manufacturers reduces product 

formulation and quality control costs, especially the cost of assigning reliable 

concentration values to commercially-marketed calibrators

• Availability of SRMs reduces the internal cost of quality control and quality 

assurance for clinical laboratories.

• Use of SRMs (traceability) reduces transaction costs for manufacturers and 

clinical laboratories, in the form of “trouble shooting” that occurs when products 

or systems fail to provide expected results.
31

5. SURVEY FINDINGS

5.1 THE SURVEY POPULATION

The survey population consists of two groups: manufacturers and clinical laboratory

service providers. Representatives of these groups were interviewed informally, by phone, during 

the fact-gathering phase of the study. This was followed by an electronic mail survey. Follow-up 

phone interviews and electronic mail exchanges were conducted with selected respondents to

clarify or further explore their responses.

Approximately 20 manufacturers of cholesterol measurement instruments and

complementary diagnostic chemicals were identified. Seven of the 17 manufacturers contacted

provided information on their use of SRMs, the importance of traceability to NIST and the

additional costs they would have incurred in the hypothetical absence of NIST’s definitive

method and the family of cholesterol SRMs. 

Three large national independent clinical laboratories provided detailed survey responses. 

The three organizations responding control scores of individual laboratories across the U.S. and

are responsible for a significant fraction of all cholesterol tests performed by independent

clinically laboratories annually. Several hospital laboratory directors responded to surveys but

since these could not be construed as a representative sample of all hospital laboratories, the

quantitative analysis of costs and benefits presented below is not based on their responses.49

5.2 QUANTITATIVE FINDINGS

Survey respondents provided estimates of internal cost avoidance realized by their

organizations due to the traceability of their products and services to the definitive method. Not

 

49 The impact of NIST’s cholesterol standards program on POLs was not addressed for two reasons. First, the 

number of these organizations is very large and no comprehensive list could be identified. Second, in fact-finding 

interviews, measurement system manufacturers asserted that POL users typically lack the sophistication to 

adequately address the metrological issues associated with cholesterol testing and would, therefore, be unable to 

assess the role and impact of NIST’s cholesterol SRMs.
32

all the manufacturing respondents currently use SRMs, but all recognized that in the absence of

traceability to NIST they would have to incur additional costs. 

The reported cost avoidance is of two kinds: production costs and transaction costs. In the 

hypothetical absence of NIST, manufacturers and clinical laboratories would incur additional

operating costs in assigning, or validating, cholesterol concentration values to secondary or

working calibration standards. Dispute resolution costs (transaction costs), born largely, but not

solely, by the manufacturers when the measurement processes in clinical laboratory settings get

out of control, would be higher if manufacturers could not trace there value assignments to NIST. 

The sum of these “costs avoided” are interpreted as the benefits to society of NIST’s

investment in the development and maintenance cholesterol SRMs and the definitive method that 

assures their accuracy. 

5.3 QUALITATIVE FINDINGS

Many industry respondents recognize the continuing importance of being traceable to

NIST. According to a leading manufacturer,

Traceability to a higher order reference material is a fundamental expectation of 

customers worldwide. The availability of reference materials directly from

NIST, for use in support of product calibration by the manufacturer of an 

[cholesterol measurement] system, adds a significant dimension of certainty to

the process and ultimately to the value of our product. This added dimension of 

certainty ... facilitates the resolution of numerous potential problems and

questions from customers when accuracy may be in question. This provides for

more efficient problem resolution where the root causes may be related to

operator protocols, or other system failure modes, independent of the underlying 

calibration.

According to a representative of one of the largest national independent testing

laboratories, “standardization is used strategically to attract national contracts. It also enables

better purchasing decisions.” While manufacturers and testing laboratories recognize the

importance of traceability, relations between clinical laboratories (buyers) and manufacturers

(suppliers) appear to have changed in complex ways.
33

Today not all laboratories have the capability to establish a reference material. Industry

respondents point out that automation of the measurement process, as well as the long-term 

“de-skilling” of the clinical laboratory, has resulted in a situation where only relatively few

commercial testing laboratories have the expertise to develop even a secondary reference

material in the absence of commercially available standards traceable to NIST. According to one 

survey respondent, describing the changed environment within clinical laboratories, “we no

longer have the time available to perform our own documentation.” 

Independent testing laboratories have become “production operations.” While lead

laboratories within a commercial laboratory network retain high-level measurement expertise, the 

experimental and research culture that used to characterize clinical testing is no longer typical. 

Coupled with the manufacturers’ drive to automate as many of the measurement functions as

feasible, this de-skilling of the clinical laboratory appears to have shifted the locus of

measurement expertise to the manufacturer. 

Nevertheless, the large clinical laboratories have retained market power and use it

effectively to influence the manufacturer’s quality control processes and costs. When

measurement processes go out of control, clinical laboratories consider it the measurement

system manufacturer’s responsibility to identify the problem and expend the resources to solve it. 

Not surprisingly, clinical laboratory representatives report that a primary criterion for instrument

manufacturers is the maintenance of traceability to NIST.

Clinical laboratory representatives report both these trends are increasing laboratory

reliance on “closed systems” in which instrument, reagents, calibrators, and controls are sold and 

assured only as a package or system. While some respondents continue to rely on “open”

systems, the trend appears to be in the other direction. Industry representatives report that closed 

systems tend to obviate the direct need for NIST SRMs. In the words of one survey respondent,

“instrument calibration has become more and more difficult for a clinical lab to change.” For

these and other reasons, the College of American Pathologists is reported to have decided to

discontinue the distribution of traceable cholesterol reference materials. Other survey
34

respondents describe a trend, here and abroad, away from standard materials and toward standard 

methods.

While it is difficult to say with certainty, it appears that the increasing pressure for costcontrol in clinical laboratories, and the technological trends favoring “closed” cholesterol

measurement systems, created an environment in which the CDC’s CRMLN program (certifying

measurement systems against the reference method) has been “selected” (to use an evolutionary

metaphor) over the more traditional reference material approach. CRMLN certification has

become widely regarded as “good enough.”50

Of course this reference method is traceable to a NIST standard reference material and the 

definitive method. But, where manufacturers use the reference method, they are not relying

directly on the NIST’s primary standards and are effectively satisfied with measurement results

that are somewhat less accurate. In the words of one manufacturer, 

The difference is that, whereas, in the past, we would have purchased the NIST

material and standardized our systems ourselves, we now rely on CDC-certified 

labs to standardize sera for our standardization procedure. In this way, we

maintain CDC certification of our systems for our customers to A-K [the AbellKendall measurement method — the reference method used by CDC’s 

CRMLN], but no longer standardize directly to the NIST material.

 

50 A representative of a cholesterol measurement system manufacturer explained that the company was under 

considerable pressure from the clinical laboratory (customer) community to become certified through the 

CRMLN even though the company’s technical staff felt that the NIST reference material approach was more 

appropriate than the reference method. 
35

6. QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS

6.1 COST AVOIDANCE BENEFITS

Whether they use SRMs directly or not, survey respondents recognize the value of having 

products traceable to NIST primary reference materials. They provided point estimates of

additional costs that would be incurred in the hypothetical absence of NIST SRMs.51 These

“costs avoided” are of two kinds: internal production and quality control costs, and transaction

costs. In Table 5 these two types of benefits are combined and projected back over the span of the 

study period. Projecting the point estimates of cost avoidance back in time results in a

conservative estimate of the program’s impact. As explained above, it is believed that the time

Table 5—Industry Cost Avoidance Benefits

Year Manufacturing 

Production Cost 

Avoidance

(Current $)*

Laboratory Operations 

Cost Avoidance

(Current $)

Transaction Cost 

Avoidance

(Current $)

Total Industry Benefits

(Current $)

1986 - - - -

1987 - - - -

1988 351,681 84,713 63,372 499,766

1989 366,159 88,200 65,981 520,341

1990 382,506 92,138 68,927 543,570

1991 397,451 95,738 71,620 564,809

1992 408,193 98,325 73,556 580,074

1993 418,935 100,913 75,492 595,339

1994 429,210 103,388 77,343 609,940

1995 439,018 105,750 79,110 623,878

1996 447,424 107,775 80,625 635,825

1997 455,364 109,688 82,056 647,108

1998 460,034 110,813 82,898 653,745

1999 467,040 112,500 84,160 663,700

*The point estimates from the industry survey were converted into nominal dollars using the GDP Price Index (chain type), with 1999 as the

reference year. 

period studied is one in which the direct benefits of the cholesterol SRMs to industry has been

declining, certainly harder to quantify. In other words, from the perspective of the program’s

entire history, it is safe to surmise that these estimates are biased downward. Accordingly, had

point estimates been obtained during the earlier part of the study period, and certainly if they had 

 

51 Respondents provided single point estimates for one year (1999).
36

been obtained for the preceding era (1967-1986), these estimates would have been higher,

perhaps dramatically so.

6.1.1 Production Cost Avoidance

 Out of 17 manufacturers surveyed seven responded completely. Only five provided

quantitative estimates of counterfactual cost avoidance benefits. The estimates ranged from

$6,500 per year to $220,000, with a mean cost avoidance benefit of $66,720. Since all seven

respondents recognized NIST’s value, the average annual benefit of $66,720 is assigned to all

seven for a total annual benefit of $467,040.

Three independent national clinical laboratories and several hospital system laboratories

were surveyed. Based only on the survey results from independent clinical laboratories the

average annual cost avoidance per laboratory system is $37,500. The annual cost avoidance

estimate for the three large independent clinical labs is $112,500.

6.1.2 Transaction Cost Avoidance

Only one organization provided quantitative data allowing a quantitative estimate of

transaction cost savings. Absent NIST traceable standards, according to the respondent,

laboratory personnel would spend considerably more time engaged in trouble-shooting activities. 

The estimated saving per laboratory, per month, between 1990 and 2000 is 2hrs. Based on data

provided by respondents we estimate the average hourly burdened rate of a person engaged in

trouble-shooting activities between laboratories and manufacturers to be $21.92. Therefore, the

estimated transaction cost savings to a clinical lab is $43.84 per month or $526 per year. The

independent laboratories surveyed manage approximately 80 laboratories of the type where this

kind of trouble-shooting for cholesterol tests would occur. Transaction cost savings due to the

availability of NIST traceable standards is therefore estimated to be $42,080 per year for the three 

independent laboratory systems surveyed. Doubling this figure to account for similar savings on

the manufacturers’ side of the trouble-shooting transaction results in a total annual transaction

cost savings attributable to NIST traceability of $84,160.
37

The total estimated annual counterfactual cost saving (benefits) attributable to NIST

traceability is $663,700.52 We project the benefits back to 1988 which was the year of the first

sale of an SRM series (the SRM 911b series) certified by means of the upgraded IDMS system.

The reader will recall that it was the investment of substantial fixed costs in the upgrading of

NIST’s mass spectrometer apparatus that determined the start date (1986) for this impact

assessment. Cholesterol SRMs have been available since 1967.

6.2 NIST EXPENDITURES

The costs associated with the development and distribution of the cholesterol SRMs that

are the focus of this impact assessment were derived from data provided by CSTL concerning

SRM sales and their distribution over time, as well as one-time equipment costs, incurred when

NIST renovated the IDSM process in, as well “other agency” cost incurred by the College of

American Pathologists (CAP) in support of the certification of some of the SRMs as several

investments made by according to procedures developed by NIST's Program Office, Strategic

Planning and Economic Analysis Group. Table 6 presents these costs over the course of the study 

period.

These costs are comprised of development costs, production costs, and overhead costs.

They are derived from SRM unit price and yearly sales data except where organizations outside

NIST contributed resources. For several years the CAP-funded NIST’s SRM development and

production activities. These costs are included in the costs represented in Table 6.53

 

52 $467,040 (manufacturers internal process cost avoidance) + $112,500 (dominant independent clinical labs’ 

internal process cost avoidance) + $84,160 (transaction cost savings to independent labs and their measurement 

system suppliers).

53 While the detail is not shown here, no production or overhead costs were recorded prior to 1989. Production 

costs for 1986 and 1987 are excluded because certification of the SRMs placed in inventory in those years 

occurred prior to 1986. No overhead costs are shown for 1986 and 1987 since the SRMs sold in those years were 

developed prior to 1986. The College of American Pathologists contributed ~$150,000 (FY1999) over the course 

of the study period for the development and production of SRMs: $70,000 (1986); and $20,000 per year (1988, 

1990, 1995, and 1996). 
38

Table 6—Cholesterol SRM Program Costs

Year NIST Costs

 (Current $)

1986 101,000

1987 -

1988 80,600

1989 70,600

1990 79,900

1991 127,000

1992 119,800

1993 77,200

1994 134,777

1995 155,575

1996 351,752

1997 132,700

1998 40,247

1999 52,249

6.3 MEASURES OF ECONOMIC IMPACT

Table 7 transforms the “current” costs and benefits reported in Tables 5 and 6 into a time 

series of constant 1999 dollars that provides the basis for the summary economic impact 

Table 7—Constant 1999 Dollar Benefits and Costs (1986-1999)*

Year Benefits

(Constant 1999 Dollars)

Costs

(Constant 1999 Dollars)

Net Benefits

(Constant 1999 Dollars)

1986 - 143,466 (143,466)

1987 - 0 0

1988 663,700 106,976 556,724

1989 663,700 90,095 573,605

1990 663,700 97,546 566,154

1991 663,700 149,196 514,504

1992 663,700 137,063 526,637

1993 663,700 86,115 577,585

1994 663,700 146,656 517,044

1995 663,700 165,505 498,195

1996 663,700 367,173 296,527

1997 663,700 136,103 527,597

1998 663,700 40,860 622,840

1999 663,700 52,249 611,451

* The deflator used to convert current to constant dollars is the Gross Domestic Product Price Index (chain-type).
39

estimates reported below: social rate of return (SRR), net present value (NPV) and, and benefitto- cost ratio (B/C).54 (For a discussion of these metrics see Appendix B.)

Estimates of economic impact metrics for NIST's cholesterol standard reference material

program are displayed in Table 8. They are characterized as "lower-bound" estimates because

they have a conservative, downward bias. There are two primary reasons for this bias. First, the

time period studied appears to be one in which NIST’s role had begun to change such that fewer 

users purchased SRMs directly. They increasingly relied, instead, on the NIST-anchored CDC

laboratory network program. The absence of appropriate historical records and the limited

memories of participants make it difficult to assess programs with histories stretching back more 

than 30 years. Second, no attempt was made to scale the survey results to the entire population of 

beneficiaries because the information concerning the structure of the population of clinical

laboratories — especially hospital clinical laboratories and physician office laboratories — could 

not be ascertained within the resources available.

Table 8—Lower-Bound Estimates of Economic Impact (1986–1999)

Performance Metric Lower-Bound Estimate

Net Present Value (1999 dollars) $3,570,000

Social Rate of Return 154%

Benefit-to-Cost Ratio (1999 dollars) 4.47

Despite methodological choices that bias the economic impact metrics in a downward

direction, the results of the preceding analysis indicate that NIST has played an important and

appropriate economic role in supporting the national effort to monitor, measure, and control

cholesterol levels. The reported SRR is very close to the average return (159%) estimated for all 

other quantitative assessments of NIST infratechnology programs.55

 

54 The deflator used to convert current to constant dollars is the Gross Domestic Product Price Index (chain-type).

55 This average is based on 19 impact assessments. See, http://www.nist.gov/director/planning/studies.htm, August 1, 

2000.
40

APPENDIX A: WHAT IS CHOLESTEROL? 56

Cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance found in the bloodstream and in all the body’s cells. 

It is an important part of a healthy body because it is used to form cell membranes, some

hormones and other needed tissues. But a high level of cholesterol in the blood—

hypercholesterolemia—presents a major risk factor for heart attacks and strokes (cardiovascular

disease—CVD).

Cholesterol comes from two sources. It is produced by the body, mostly in the liver

(about 1,000 milligrams a day). It is also found in foods that come from animals, such as meats, 

poultry, fish, seafood and dairy products. Foods from plants (fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and

seeds) do not contain cholesterol.

Cholesterol and other fats cannot dissolve in the blood. They have to be transported to

and from the cells by special carriers of lipids and proteins called lipoproteins. There are three

classes of these lipoprotiens: low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), very low-density lipoproteins

(VLDLs), and high-density lipoproteins (HDLs). Cholesterol is a constituent of each of these

classes of lipoprotein and is chemically “available,” i.e., measurable, differently for each. LDLs

and HDLs are our chief concerns. 

LDL is the major cholesterol carrier in the blood. When a person has too much LDL

cholesterol circulating in the blood, it can slowly build up within the walls of the arteries feeding 

the heart and brain. Together with other substances it can form plaque, a thick, hard deposit that

can clog those arteries. This condition is known as atherosclerosis. The formation of a clot (or

thrombus) in the region of this plaque can block the flow of blood to part of the heart muscle and 

cause a heart attack. If a clot blocks the flow of blood to part of the brain, the result is a stroke. A 

high level of LDL cholesterol reflects an increased risk of heart disease. That is why LDL

cholesterol is often called "bad" cholesterol. 

 

56 American Heart Association; http://www.amhrt.org/Heart_and_Stroke_A_Z_Guide/ncep.html
41

About one-third to one-fourth of blood cholesterol is carried by HDLs. Medical experts

think HDL tends to carry cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver, where it is

passed from the body. Some experts believe HDL removes excess cholesterol from

atherosclerotic plaques and thus slows their growth. HDL is known as "good" cholesterol

because a high level of HDL seems to protect against heart attack. The opposite is also true: a

low HDL level indicates a greater risk.

One of the most important means of minimizing the risks of heart attacks and heart

disease is maintaining desirable cholesterol levels in the bloodstream, as shown in Table A-1.57

Typically, a healthy adult should attempt to maintain cholesterol levels less than 200 mg/dL

(milligrams per deciliter) through proper diet, regular exercise and, if necessary, prescription

treatment. A cholesterol level of 200-239 is generally considered to be worthy of monitoring. 

While not in a high-risk zone, it approaches what most physicians consider worrisome levels.

Individuals with cholesterol levels above 240 generally have a higher risk of heart attack or heart 

disease. 

Table A-1—Cholesterol Blood Level Thresholds

Cholesterol 

Type

Desirable Borderline

High Risk

for CVD

High Risk

for CVD

Total Cholesterol < 200 mg/dL 200-239 mg/dL  240 mg/dL

LDL Cholesterol < 130 mg/dL 130-159 mg/dL  160 mg/dL

HDL Cholesterol > 60 mg/dL - < 35 mg/dL

 

57 Ernst Schaefer and Judith McNamara, “Overview of the Diagnosis and Treatment of Lipid Disorders,” in Nader 

Rifai, et al., Handbook of Lipoprotein Testing, AACC Press, 1997, p. 29.
42

APPENDIX B: MEASURES OF ECONOMIC IMPACT58

Economists and business analysts use a number of measures to estimate the economic

impact of science and technology projects. The most accurate employ the “net present value”

concept whereby the value of a times series of net benefits (benefits minus cost) from an

investment project (projected or realized) are adjusted to their “present” value by means of a

“discount” rate.59 The three metrics used to characterize the economic impact of NIST’s

investments in this report are: net present value (NPV), social rate of return (SRR), and benefitto-cost ratio (B/C).

Net Present Value (NPV). NPV is the value of projected or realized series of net benefits 

stated in “present” or “current” dollars. The adjustment of the net benefits for each period in a

time series is accomplished by a discount rate reflecting the return that could have been earned

on the money invested the project being evaluated. Mathematically, 

NPV = t=0 to t=n (B t - C t) / (1 + i)t

where (Bt- Ct) represents the net benefits associated with the project in year t and “i” is the value 

of the discount rate.

Social rate of return (SRR) SRR is the value of the discount rate, i, that equates the net 

present value (NPV) of a stream of net benefits associated with a research project to zero.

Mathematically,

NPV = [(B0- C0) / (1 + i)

0

] + ... + [(Bn- Cn) / (1 + i)

n

] = 0

where (Bt- Ct) represents the net benefits associated with the project in year t, and n represents 

the number of time periods (years in most cases) being considered in the evaluation.

This measure is more commonly referred to as the internal rate of return (IRR) and used

to measure relative impact of a private firm’s investment projects. Because the benefits of

 

58 Unless otherwise indicated, the following characterization of economic impact metrics follows closely the 

discussion of Albert N. Link and John T. Scott, Public Accountability: Evaluating Technology-Based Institutions

(Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers) 1998.

59 Gregory Tassey, Rates of Return from Investments in Technology Infrastructure, NIST Planning Report 96-3, 
43

NIST’s investments accrue to a large number of organizations, and these benefits are used to

calculate the economic impact of public investments, this traditional financial metric has been

called the social rate of return.60

The time series for calculating the SRR runs from the beginning of the research project, t 

= 0, to a milestone terminal point, t = n. Net benefits refer to total benefits (B) less total costs (C) 

in each time period. For unique solutions of i, in the equation directly above, the SRR can be

compared to a value r that represents the opportunity cost of funds invested by the technologybased public institution. Thus, if the opportunity cost of funds is less than the internal rate of

return, the project was worthwhile from an ex post social perspective.

Benefit-to-cost ratio. The ratio of benefits-to-costs is the ratio of the present value of all 

measured benefits to the present value of all costs. Both benefits and costs are referenced to the

initial time period, t = 0, as:

B / C = [ t=0 to t=n Bt / (1 + r)t] / [ t=0 to t=n Ct / (1 + r)t]

A benefit-to-cost ratio of 1 implies that the project is a break-even project. Any project with B / 

C > 1 is a relatively successful project. Furthermore, the information developed to determine the 

benefit-to-cost ratio can be used to determine net prevent value for each of several projects, 

allowing in principle one means of prioritizing projects ex post. 

Fundamental to implementing the ratio of benefits-to-costs is a value for the discount 

rate, i. The calculated metrics, above, approximate the opportunity cost of public funds by

following the guidelines set forth by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in Circular

Number A-94, which states:

Constant-dollar benefit-cost analyses of proposed investments and regulations

should report net present value and other outcomes determined using a real

discount rate of 7 percent. 

That procedure was followed in developing the economic impact estimates for this report.

 

June 1996.

60 Gregory Tassey, Rates of Return From Investments in Technology Infrastructure, NIST Planning Report 96-3, 

June 1996.