Private facilities seeking COVID-19 accreditation
As directed by Dr. Bonnie Henry: Any site, laboratory, or company that charges clients for symptomatic or asymptomatic point-of-care (POC) testing for COVID-19 is required to receive full independent accreditation through the Diagnostic Accreditation Program (DAP).
What can I expect for the accreditation process?
Once the DAP receives your completed forms, we will review and contact you if further documents are required. When the review is complete, we will schedule a full day, on-site assessment.
During the assessment, the assessor will request to review evidence to ensure that there is compliance to the standards. If evidence cannot be provided or deemed insufficient, it will be marked as a nonconformance.
Facilities must complete all nonconformances before accreditation is awarded.
Therefore, the time between application to achievement of accreditation can take one to six months depending on the readiness of the facility.
Yes. The DAP is a cost-recovery program, and its operations are funded from facility fees.
The following fees apply to facilities seeking accreditation related to COVID-19 specimen collection and testing:
- Non-refundable application and initial assessment fee: C$3,750
- This non-refundable fee is due upon receipt of the facility’s application.
- The application will not be processed until receipt of the fee.
- Annual dues: C$3,000
- Dues are billed annually and pro-rated the first year of the application.
- On-site assessment for full accreditation: C$3,750
- An on-site assessment for full accreditation is scheduled one year after the facility begins operating.
How do I prepare for the on-site assessment?
For a facility performing POC, they will be assessed to the following:
- general standards
- ORG, QMS, SAF, FAC, ERS, IMI, QUA, PRE, EXA, POS
- discipline-specific standard
- POC
| Document name | Effective date |
|---|---|
| Accreditation Standards for Initial Assessment – Laboratory Medicine Version 1.7 | July 1, 2022 |