CMS Clarifies CLIA Certification Requirements for Remote Cytology

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently clarified Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act (CLIA) certification requirements for remote cytology.

The College of American Pathologists (CAP) requested clarification because of recent federal policy updates, including updates to requirements related to CLIA certification for laboratories. CMS officials explained that remote Rapid Adequacy Assessments (also known as rapid on-site evaluation or ROSE) require a separate CLIA certificate for an off-site location where a review is performed, including virtual slide review. CMS also clarified that adequacy assessment does not count as a separate examination for workload limit purposes.

Source:

https://www.cap.org/advocacy/latest-news-and-practice-data/march-31-2026#story2