Clinical Laboratory Improvement Advisory Committee (CLIAC)

The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Advisory Committee (CLIAC), managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), provides scientific and technical advice and guidance to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Committee includes diverse membership across laboratory specialties, professional roles, (laboratory management, technical, physicians, nurses) and practice settings (academic, clinical, public health), and includes a consumer representative.

The clinical and anatomic pathology laboratory specialties represented include microbiology, immunology, chemistry, hematology, immunohematology, cytopathology, histopathology, genetic testing, and informatics. The Committee also includes three ex officio members from the federal agencies that oversee the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) program, specifically the CDC, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Last, a nonvoting liaison representing the laboratory industry participates on the Committee.

The advice and guidance CLIAC provides to HHS pertains to general issues related to improvement in clinical laboratory quality and laboratory medicine practice. In addition, the Committee provides advice and guidance on specific questions related to possible revision of the
CLIA standards.

For more information, please see the Federal Advisory Committee Database CLIAC page.