CLIA requires that a laboratory's ______ results be monitored on an ongoing basis by The Joint Commission.

• A. Internal controls
• B. Proficiency testing
• C. Quality control
• D. Patient results

Answer: (B)

The important idea is external performance evaluation over time. Proficiency testing involves the lab periodically analyzing external, blind samples and reporting the results. These results are then tracked and compared over time to ensure the lab is producing accurate results across many runs and analytes. The Joint Commission uses this ongoing proficiency testing performance as a key indicator of a lab’s quality and compliance with CLIA requirements. Internal controls and quality control are essential day-to-day checks performed by the lab itself, and patient results are the outcomes produced; neither is the external, time-spanning benchmark that accreditation bodies monitor in the same way as proficiency testing.