Cap Accreditation Program
The main aim of this program is to look after the betterment of patient safety standards, by bringing about advancement in pathology and laboratory quality, through the means of education, setting standards, and looking after the fact that the laboratories are up to regulatory requirements.
The CAP accreditation program is an international event, and this program works by exchanging professional information. There are multi-disciplinary teams of inspectors, who help CAP in monitoring various health and medical providers. Assessment is done every 2 years by assessors, and it is checked whether te labs are up to CAP standards. CAP sees whether international standards are being met, in the case of DNA testing laboratories. The areas that CAP puts emphasis on while checking are- quality management supplies, sample testing, specimen collection and handling, staffing, test reporting, laboratory equipment and computer services.
There are over 200 and 170 general and pathological standards respectively, and these have to be met by the laboratories who conduct parentage testing.
DNA testing labs are given the chance to take part in proficiency testing. CAP gives the samples, the labs are allowed to run and analyze them, and then CAP reviews the results. Then the testing accuracy and performance of each lab is evaluated.
The significance of the CAP program is that it ensures that the organizations are properly committed to high lab standards and patient care. As for the DNA testing laboratories, they are expected to bring forward high quality results and superb patient education.