Millennium Laboratories supports CLIA certification for Florida clinical laboratories

Feb 2 2010

Millennium Laboratories, Inc., a leading provider of therapeutic drug monitoring and education to physicians and staff treating chronic pain patients, today announced the company’s support for a recent decision by the Florida Pain Management Clinic Standards of Practice Joint Committee to amend draft regulatory language related to the certification of clinical laboratories providing services to pain physicians operating in the state.

“By recognizing that the SAMHSA standard would have made clinical lab testing for Florida doctors decidedly more difficult and then acting accordingly, the committee should be credited for its decision. The vote to reverse this proposed language reflects awareness and flexibility that should be highly commended.”

Voting unanimously, the committee agreed January 23rd to alter a proposed state rule by requiring clinical labs providing services in Florida to be certified through the federal Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) program. As originally written the draft rule would have required Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA) certification, a program narrowly focused and intended for use with illicit drug abuse versus the abuse of controlled medications.

Millennium Laboratories’ CEO James Slattery, the only representative from the clinical laboratory community to testify before the committee, highlighted the importance of maintaining the CLIA standard and its effectiveness in ensuring that Florida doctors are able to utilize labs adhering to the highest standards possible. “I am grateful the committee afforded me the opportunity to testify in favor of maintaining the CLIA standard,” said Slattery. “By recognizing that the SAMHSA standard would have made clinical lab testing for Florida doctors decidedly more difficult and then acting accordingly, the committee should be credited for its decision. The vote to reverse this proposed language reflects awareness and flexibility that should be highly commended.”

Prior to the hearing, Millennium Laboratories had provided the committee with a comprehensive analysis that illustrated the CLIA standard as being considerably more applicable than its SAMHSA counterpart.