Attending the CRI® Symposium for Clinical Laboratories, affords participants the opportunity to participate in discussions centered on EDUCATION FOR LABORATORY EXCELLENCE – making a positive impact for quality patient care. This year’s symposium will be held October 15-18, 2014 at the Buena Vista Palace Hotel & Spa Lake Buena Vista (Orlando), FL. Participants can attend a wide selection of educational sessions, earn up to 20 CME or P.A.C.E® credits, network with other healthcare professionals and visit the exhibit hall featuring the latest laboratory technology, equipment and supplies.

The CRI® Symposium for Clinical Laboratories provides opportunity to meet personal, professional, and organizational goals at a reasonable cost. The Symposium is designed to provide physicians, laboratory directors, technical consultants, laboratory managers, testing personnel, and other healthcare professionals with continuing education that’s critical to operating a successful and compliant medical diagnostic laboratory. The Symposium for Clinical Laboratories includes Keynote General Sessions of broad interest, and breakout sessions addressing various needs and interests.

This year’s Symposium features stimulating sessions such as:

Lab Test Utilization This session will provide guidance on test system performance efficiency based on location. It will provide practitioners with knowledge and tools available to assist in ordering and interpreting the over 4000 laboratory testing analytes available for aiding in patient care. Also covered in this dynamic presentation is the necessity of a robust IT laboratory system to incorporate these tools. Improper test utilization and its negative effects on quality patient care will be highlighted during the presentation. This course has value for clinicians and laboratorians alike collaborating in laboratory testing and patient care.

Application & Validation of Triple Quadrapole Mass Spectrometers for Clinical Use in the Field of Toxicology - This presentation demonstrates a complete picture of variations in methodology, guidelines for LC-MS/MS and essential validation requirements that insure accurate results for the requesting physician. An overview of the following topics will be presented: operating cost, sample prep, confirmation or quantitation and validation guidelines. Many of the issues facing labs currently utilizing mass spectrometry could be resolved by properly validating the method and all aspects of the laboratory operations.

Patient-Centered Care and Laboratory Medicine This session will explore integrated, patient-centered systems that support communication, coordination, and continuity rather than a system based on the silos of medical care. The current and future value of laboratory medicine to patient-centered care is increasingly apparent. Addressing the challenges to the health system requires greater engagement by the laboratory in activities that extend beyond the “four walls” of the laboratory or the traditional pre-analytic, analytic, and post-analytic areas. IQCP Education and Transition Period: Tools for Success In the years since the final CLIA regulations were published defined parameters for laboratories performing external quality control (QC) have been widely debated. As a result, the Individualized Quality Control Program (IQCP) has emerged. With the newly published CMS IQCP Guidelines and the education and transition period underway, now is the time to prepare! To assist laboratories during the education and transition, CRI has developed a new IQCP educational program. This session will review the tools available to educate your staff and implement IQCP in your laboratory. Included will be an overview of resources/tools available to implement IQCP, answering the question: “How can IQCP be implemented within my laboratory, while ensuring regulatory compliance?” Discussed will be a comprehensive educational program that is customizable, easy to use, and provides the building blocks necessary to develop an IQCP unique to your laboratory.

From effective Lab Test Utilization to Mass Spec, Federal guidelines to local regulations, CRI’s Annual Symposium for Clinical Laboratories is the must attend educational event of the year for excellence in laboratory medicine! Registration is now open. www.criedu.org/symposia/

Join us at our AACC McCormick Place Press Conference Tuesday July 29, 2014 at 9:00 a.m.and visit us at Booth #1054 to learn more!