- Home
- Advocacy
- Latest News and Practice Data
- CAP President Urges Repeal of DC Clinical Laboratory Licensure Law
On December 19, CAP President Donald Karcher, MD, FCAP, urged the Council of the District of Columbia (DC) to repeal the 2015 clinical laboratory licensure law within the “Health Occupations Revision General Amendment Act of 2023” (B25-0545).
“As indicated previously, the CAP does not believe that local regulation of clinical laboratory personnel is necessary for or integral to quality assurance in the clinical laboratory. Our D.C. membership has expressed grave concerns based on the anticipated negative effects of the clinical laboratory and personnel licensure law’s implementation and the amendments proposed which could severely exacerbate workforce shortages and adversely impact patient care for D.C. residents.”
In 2022, CAP previously advocated for repeal in the personnel clean-up bill B24-764 proposed by the Mayor’s office which failed to advance. Of note, the CAP’s D.C. members had opposed the enactment of the 2015 clinical laboratory licensure law.
The CAP works closely with state pathology societies to oppose state licensure for certain professions per CAP’s model criteria for state licensure of clinical laboratory personnel and in opposition to regulatory constraints on pathologists’ practice.
The CAP will continue to work closely with the D.C. Hospital Association and the D.C. Clinical Laboratory Coalition comprised of D.C. pathologist leaders to urge repeal of the 2015 law. The CAP, as part of this coalition, will continue to assess opportunities to repeal the law altogether.