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The HHS Proficiency Examination (formerly HEW Proficiency Examination) refers to an American medical technologist certification offered by the Department of Health Education and Welfare (HEW) and subsequently United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The examination was established under Social Security Amendments of 1972 and was offered seven times from 1975 until 1987.
The HEW/HHS exam qualified individuals to serve as high complexity general supervisors under Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments(CLIA) 1992 without a degree.
The exam was administered a total of 7 times: 4 times between 1975 and 1977, once in 1979 and once in 1983, and one last time on August 28, 1987. Approximately 65,000 people took the exam, and approximately 31,000 passed. Several other allied health profession proficiency examinations were included in the original act, but only the laboratory examination was renewed.
The qualifications for the HEW exam were a GED and 4 year of on-the-job laboratory experience.
Over a dozen medical technologist professional associations opposed the certification including the American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP) and American Medical Technologists (AMT). Opposition was in part due to the lack of educational requirements, another competing certification in a crowded field, and a lack of follow-up efficacy.
The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) was a proponent of the exam noting that it should "significantly increase the pool of personnel qualified for technologist positions in independent labs." Following the exam's discontinuation in 1987, in 1992 HCFA urged the reinstatement of the exam to address the shortage of properly credentialed laboratory personnel. American Association of Bioanalysts (AAB) and the International Society for Clinical Laboratory Technology (ISCLT) supported its reinstatement, while ASCP opposed it.
Those who passed the exam were given the designatory letters: CLT (HEW) and later CLT (HHS) for Clinical Laboratory Technologist.
HEW certified techs were paid less than the degree-bearing MT ASCP certified techs for the same work.
Results of the HEW/HHS exam can be obtained via the HHS System of Records Notices (SORNs) SORN 09–20–0157.
Exam preparation
AAB developed a two-day review program to help individuals prepare for the HEW Proficiency Examination, known as the “Proficiency Examination Reviews” or “PERs”. The notes used during the reviews were compiled into a reference manual that became the PER Handbook which continued into its tenth edition in 2016.
References
- Manpower, United States Health Resources Administration Bureau of Health; Professions, United States Health Resources Administration Division of Associated Health (1980). A Report on Allied Health Personnel. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, Health Resources Administration, Bureau of Health Manpower. p. VI-11.
- ^ Laubenthal, Connie (Dec 1, 1997). "Answering your questions on HEW certification vs. BS degrees, reporting spermatozoa in urine exams, Calcoflour stains, and hair analysis". Medical Laboratory Observer.
- ^ "HHS sets August date for proficiency exam". Medical Laboratory Observer. May 1, 1987.
- ^ "Microscope on Washington - DHHS Proficiency Examination Faces Repeal". Laboratory Medicine. 18 (8): 505–506. 1 August 1987. doi:10.1093/labmed/18.8.505.
- ^ Berger, D (October 1999). "A brief history of medical diagnosis and the birth of the clinical laboratory. Part 3--Medicare, government regulation, and competency certification" (PDF). MLO: Medical Laboratory Observer. 31 (10): 40–2, 44. PMID 11184277.
- "M". American Journal of Medical Technology. American Society for Medical Technology.: 397 1978.
- United States Congress House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations for 1992. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1991. pp. 540–541.
- Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Health and the Environment of the Committee on Energy and Commerce - Health Professions and Nurse Education (Volume 4 ed.). U.S. Government Printing Office. May 30, 1991. pp. 200–209, 249–253, 337–339. ISBN 978-0-16-035404-5.
- Garrels, Martha (Marti) (16 June 2014). "Introduction to the Laboratory and Safety Training". Laboratory Testing for Ambulatory Settings - E-Book: A Guide for Health Care Professionals. Elsevier Health Sciences. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-323-29237-5.
- Fitzgibbon, Robert J. (1981). Legal Guidelines for the Clinical Laboratory. Medical Economics Company, Book Division. p. 362. ISBN 978-0-87489-243-7.
- "Clinical Laboratory Personnel Proficiency Test Results (Medicare), HHS/CDC/PHPPO. SORN 09-20-0157". HHS. Dec 19, 2017.
- ^ Birenbaum, Mark S.; Simonson, Louise O. (May 2, 2016), A Brief 60-Year History of the American Association of Bioanalysts: (1956-2016) (PDF), American Association of Bioanalysts (AAB), retrieved 18 April 2024
External links
- Clinical Laboratory Personnel Proficiency Test Results (Medicare), HHS/CDC/PHPPO, United States Department of Health and Human Services
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