The University Health Service laboratory recently received national honor for excellence and achievement as it passed its third federal regulatory inspection under the Clinical Laboratory Inspection Act of 1988. This is the third consecutive accreditation inspection that the Health Service Lab has passed with no deficiencies. The UHS lab provides a wide variety of testing including cultures, pregnancy tests, blood work, and other services. Based on the complexity of testing and services performed, the UHS lab is ranked at CLIA's highest level of certification. The CLIA law is intended to ensure the quality and reliability of medical tests performed by more than 140,000 clinical laboratories throughout the United States.
Laboratories are subject to federal regulations and inspections every two years.
CLIA regulates personnel qualifications, quality control, proficiency, patient test management and quality assurance. Ewald reported that, at the UHS lab, every step of laboratory testing and all aspects of quality control are carefully documented and monitored. Additionally, the competency of laboratory personnel is monitored by observation and proficiency testing. Patients' comments regarding their satisfaction with laboratory services are solicited as well. This page is maintained by the NIU Office of Public Affairs.