ASCP Efforts to Support the Fight Against COVID-19

ASCP COVID-19 Efforts

Joined an appeal for healthcare employers to require workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine

ASCP and other specialty medical societies, led by the Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS) released a statement calling for all health care employers to require their employees be vaccinated against the coronavirus. The statement was in response to the COVID-19 surge and the availability of extremely safe and effective vaccines. Read more here.

Disseminated guidance and information specific to laboratories

Information and resources can be found on this website, as well as in the ASCP News posts related to COVID-19 here.

Secured regulatory flexibility to allow remote pathology services

In response to unrelenting advocacy from ASCP, other laboratory and pathology organizations, the American Medical Association and other medical associations, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced an immediate change in policy regarding the ability of pathologists and laboratory personnel to work remotely without the need for a separate CLIA certificate. Read the CMS memo on the topic here. ASCP urged the Agency to change policy in a March 17 letter, which was supported by a joint ASCP/Association of Pathology Informatics Action Alert that generated more than 10,000 letters to federal policymakers. On March 30, ASCP received clarification that non-physician laboratory professionals may also work remotely. Read more about ASCP’s efforts here.

Supported AABB's COVIDPlasma.org project

COVIDPlasma.org was created to educate interested donors, the health care community, and the public on the rapidly evolving therapy of COVID-19 convalescent plasma. In an effort to support the blood community’s work to provide therapeutic options for patients with COVID-19, ASCP has signed on to support this project and help promote public awareness about COVID-19 convalescent plasma.

Worked to expand COVID-19 testing authority

ASCP worked to expand the network of clinical laboratories that can test for the COVID-2019. Read ASCP’s letter to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar supporting expanding testing authorization here. Read about ASCP’s efforts here and learn more about our Action Alert on this topic below.

Provided you with opportunities to take action

ASCP deployed three Action Alerts providing members of the profession the opportunity to urge the federal government to allow for remote pathology services, urge policymakers to expand COVID-19 testing capacity, and call for the development of a National COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing and Support Strategy.

Supplied a free course to help pathologists and laboratory professionals identify, prevent, and overcome burnout during this challenging time

The ASCP Leadership Institute offers a free course covering the characteristics and symptoms of burnout, as well as coping resources, to equip pathologists and laboratory professionals to prevent burnout while navigating the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more here.

Showcased the behind-the-scenes work that laboratories are doing to care for patients in the ongoing docuseries "Laboratories on the Front Lines: Battling COVID-19"

Discover an ongoing series of in-the-moment interviews with members of the medical laboratory team on the front lines of the response to COVID-19 here.

Shared our profound thanks for the medical laboratory team’s unwavering commitment to patients

Read a letter from ASCP President Gene P. Siegal, MD, PhD, FASCP, and ASCP CEO E. Blair Holladay, PhD, MASCP, SCT(ASCP)^CM, here and watch a video created in collaboration with AstraZeneca below.