COLA announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has awarded COLA deemed status for the pathology specialty.
“Now that COLA has deeming authority for the specialty of pathology, we are looking forward to serving a growing number of hospitals, pathology groups and specialists with our full-service accreditation program," said Nancy Stratton, CEO of COLA.
Pathology accreditation includes histopathology, oral pathology and cytology.
The pathology program will be led by David Chhieng, MD, MBA, MSHI, MSEM, MLS, Chief Medical Officer of COLA. He is board certified in clinical and anatomic pathology, cytopathology and clinical informatics.
In addition, Kathy Wilson, HT(ASCP)QLS, has joined the organization as the Director of Pathology Accreditation. Prior to joining COLA, Wilson was the anatomic pathology operations manager, safety officer and committee chair for local and regional laboratories in Austin, TX.
