Key points
- The Division of Laboratory Systems (DLS) advances the quality and safety of clinical and public health laboratory testing and services nationwide.
- Advancing laboratory systems improves public health and patient outcomes.
Purpose
Vision
Exemplary laboratory practice and systems strengthen clinical care, public health, and emergency response.
Mission
Improve public health and patient outcomes by advancing laboratory systems.
Priorities
Quality and safety
The Division of Laboratory Systems (DLS) advances the quality and safety of clinical and public health laboratory testing and services nationwide. DLS fosters the development of laboratory standards and guidelines and supports regulatory programs. DLS works in partnership with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by providing scientific and technical expertise for the CLIA program.
Informatics and data science
DLS enhances public health surveillance and response by strengthening the exchange of laboratory data between organizations and systems, and conducting analyses of large laboratory-based datasets.
Training and workforce development
DLS works to improve the knowledge, competency, reliability, and sustainability of the clinical and public health laboratory workforce nationwide. Specifically, DLS supports the clinical and public health laboratory workforce through the development of training products and resources and implementation of competency guidelines for public health laboratory professionals.
- Graber ML, "The incidence of diagnostic error in medicine," BMJ Qual Saf 2013;22:ii21-ii27.
- Leape LL, Berwick DM, and Bates DW, "Counting Deaths Due to Medical Errors—Reply," JAMA 2002;288(19):2405.
- Tehrani, AS Saber, et al., "25-year summary of US malpractice claims for diagnostic errors 1986-2000: an analysis from the National Practitioner Bank," BMJ Qual Saf, 22, 672-680 (2013).
- Winters B, et al. "Diagnostic errors in the intensive care unit: a systematic review of autopsy studies," BMJ Qual Saf 2012;21:894–902.