Description
February 12, 2026
2026 Focus on Compliance Webinar Series
How to Track Lab Results for Cancer Patients
Immunoglobulin Free Light Chain Test: What Patients Should Know
Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.
Transcription
- Speaker #0
An interview with Dr. Earl Collum on a year-long approach to compliance education, how cancer patients can better track lab results, and a test that can help monitor certain blood cancers. Coming up next, this is Path News Network Daily Edition from the College of American Pathologists. I'm Stevan Borel. It's Thursday, February 12th. Accreditation expectations don't pause between inspections. and neither does compliance education. Labs with questions about staffing rules will get answers next week. A webinar on February 18th will tackle common questions about personnel requirements. Dr. Earl S. Cullum chairs the CAP Council on Accreditation and says the 2026 Focus on Compliance webinar series is designed as a year-long resource for laboratories.
- Speaker #1
It really is something that the laboratory needs to stay. on top of throughout the year for the good of the laboratory and the good of the patients.
- Speaker #0
Later in the show, we'll continue the conversation with Dr. Colum, taking a closer look at how the Focus on Compliance webinars support laboratories throughout the year. For patients undergoing cancer treatment, lab results can quickly add up, and keeping track of them can play an important role in care. In a recent Patient Power article, CAP experts Dr. Sue Chang and Dr. Diana Cardona share guidance on how patients can track laboratory results to better understand patterns over time. Dr. Cardona says keeping a personal record can help patients and physicians see changes more clearly. Quote, your goal should be to create a record useful for spotting patterns and giving you and your doctor helpful context. Dr. Chang adds that while clinicians monitor results, patient engagement can support more productive follow-up visits, while still emphasizing the importance of discussing results directly with the care team. A specialized blood test can help doctors diagnose and monitor certain blood cancers, including multiple myeloma. In a recent Patient Power article, CAP experts explain the role of the immunoglobulin-free light chain test. which measures specific proteins in the blood produced by plasma cells. Dr. Olga Pazniakova, chair of the CAP Hematology and Clinical Microscopy Committee, says the test looks at both the amount and balance of these proteins. Quote, The kappa and lambda-free light chain test measures the absolute levels of free kappa and free lambda light chains in the blood, and also calculates the ratio between them. Experts note the test is used not only for diagnosis, but also to monitor treatment response and detect disease relapse, sometimes before symptoms appear. And finally, as laboratories prepare for the 2026 Focus on Compliance webinar series, attention shifts from scheduling to substance, how this education supports consistent decision-making and day-to-day operations. To continue that conversation, we're joined by Dr. Earl S. Cullum, Chair of the CAP Council on Accreditation. Good afternoon, Dr. Collum. Why is ongoing compliance education so important for laboratories today?
- Speaker #1
Overall compliance is so important year-round, and we as an accrediting organization construct these and author these, focus on compliance for those areas where we believe we can provide the most information for our laboratories in order to stay current with the new changes in compliance whenever they happen. And they're always ongoing, whether it's because of new technologies, whether it's because of changes in the checklist or changes and guidance from CMS. Our focus on compliance series is to make sure we identify areas of need and then provide the guidance that laboratories can use to maintain a year-round compliance. Because it's not just one day a year they're compliant when they're inspected. It really is something that the laboratory needs to stay on top of throughout the year for the good of the laboratory and the good of the patients.
- Speaker #0
How does the 2026 Focus on Compliance webinar series help laboratories apply accreditation standards more consistently?
- Speaker #1
For the one that is upcoming on the 18th of February, that is addressing the common questions regarding personnel requirements. Personnel requirements are always a challenge when performing inspections and staying compliant and making sure that laboratories know what the current requirements are so they can respond with hiring the appropriate people for the appropriate roles. and that they have the personnel requirements needed to perform the tasks they're going to perform within their lab.
- Speaker #0
Now, the session draws from real inspection findings. Why is that kind of applied guidance valuable?
- Speaker #1
Within the Council of Accreditation and its committees, we see where laboratories have difficulty with compliance, and sometimes that will give us information. that we may want to change a checklist item. We may want to give guidance about things that laboratories are finding difficult to interpret. And we want to be able to provide that guidance so that laboratories can stay compliant with maybe a more complete understanding of what the compliance actually does require and make it easier for laboratories to maintain. compliance.
- Speaker #0
As laboratories look ahead to 2026, is there anything else you'd like to remind labs about the Focus on Compliance webinar series?
- Speaker #1
It really is an opportunity for these webinars. We are a community, and I think a laboratory that can gather its personnel and set aside a time for everyone to get together, view the view the Focus on Compliance webinar. And as a team, they can discuss with one another how they can implement the guidance given in the Focus on Compliance so that they are getting the best performance out of their laboratory. And it's always the compliance world is all ever-changing and we want to make sure that we keep laboratories informed. of things that do need changing, do need updating. And we provide a forum for laboratories to be able to learn as a community and be able to discuss and implement the things that they need to perform at their highest level.
- Speaker #0
Find out more about the 2026 Focus on Compliance webinar on February 18th by visiting the link in today's show notes. And that's all we have for today. Check out the show notes for topics covered. You can find us on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or Spotify. Subscribe on your favorite platform. Look for more news like this in our weekly newsletters, published every Tuesday and Thursday. We'll be back tomorrow at 5 a.m. Eastern with more CAP News. For the Path News Network Daily Edition, I'm Stevan Borel. Have a great day.
Description
February 12, 2026
2026 Focus on Compliance Webinar Series
How to Track Lab Results for Cancer Patients
Immunoglobulin Free Light Chain Test: What Patients Should Know
Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.
Transcription
- Speaker #0
An interview with Dr. Earl Collum on a year-long approach to compliance education, how cancer patients can better track lab results, and a test that can help monitor certain blood cancers. Coming up next, this is Path News Network Daily Edition from the College of American Pathologists. I'm Stevan Borel. It's Thursday, February 12th. Accreditation expectations don't pause between inspections. and neither does compliance education. Labs with questions about staffing rules will get answers next week. A webinar on February 18th will tackle common questions about personnel requirements. Dr. Earl S. Cullum chairs the CAP Council on Accreditation and says the 2026 Focus on Compliance webinar series is designed as a year-long resource for laboratories.
- Speaker #1
It really is something that the laboratory needs to stay. on top of throughout the year for the good of the laboratory and the good of the patients.
- Speaker #0
Later in the show, we'll continue the conversation with Dr. Colum, taking a closer look at how the Focus on Compliance webinars support laboratories throughout the year. For patients undergoing cancer treatment, lab results can quickly add up, and keeping track of them can play an important role in care. In a recent Patient Power article, CAP experts Dr. Sue Chang and Dr. Diana Cardona share guidance on how patients can track laboratory results to better understand patterns over time. Dr. Cardona says keeping a personal record can help patients and physicians see changes more clearly. Quote, your goal should be to create a record useful for spotting patterns and giving you and your doctor helpful context. Dr. Chang adds that while clinicians monitor results, patient engagement can support more productive follow-up visits, while still emphasizing the importance of discussing results directly with the care team. A specialized blood test can help doctors diagnose and monitor certain blood cancers, including multiple myeloma. In a recent Patient Power article, CAP experts explain the role of the immunoglobulin-free light chain test. which measures specific proteins in the blood produced by plasma cells. Dr. Olga Pazniakova, chair of the CAP Hematology and Clinical Microscopy Committee, says the test looks at both the amount and balance of these proteins. Quote, The kappa and lambda-free light chain test measures the absolute levels of free kappa and free lambda light chains in the blood, and also calculates the ratio between them. Experts note the test is used not only for diagnosis, but also to monitor treatment response and detect disease relapse, sometimes before symptoms appear. And finally, as laboratories prepare for the 2026 Focus on Compliance webinar series, attention shifts from scheduling to substance, how this education supports consistent decision-making and day-to-day operations. To continue that conversation, we're joined by Dr. Earl S. Cullum, Chair of the CAP Council on Accreditation. Good afternoon, Dr. Collum. Why is ongoing compliance education so important for laboratories today?
- Speaker #1
Overall compliance is so important year-round, and we as an accrediting organization construct these and author these, focus on compliance for those areas where we believe we can provide the most information for our laboratories in order to stay current with the new changes in compliance whenever they happen. And they're always ongoing, whether it's because of new technologies, whether it's because of changes in the checklist or changes and guidance from CMS. Our focus on compliance series is to make sure we identify areas of need and then provide the guidance that laboratories can use to maintain a year-round compliance. Because it's not just one day a year they're compliant when they're inspected. It really is something that the laboratory needs to stay on top of throughout the year for the good of the laboratory and the good of the patients.
- Speaker #0
How does the 2026 Focus on Compliance webinar series help laboratories apply accreditation standards more consistently?
- Speaker #1
For the one that is upcoming on the 18th of February, that is addressing the common questions regarding personnel requirements. Personnel requirements are always a challenge when performing inspections and staying compliant and making sure that laboratories know what the current requirements are so they can respond with hiring the appropriate people for the appropriate roles. and that they have the personnel requirements needed to perform the tasks they're going to perform within their lab.
- Speaker #0
Now, the session draws from real inspection findings. Why is that kind of applied guidance valuable?
- Speaker #1
Within the Council of Accreditation and its committees, we see where laboratories have difficulty with compliance, and sometimes that will give us information. that we may want to change a checklist item. We may want to give guidance about things that laboratories are finding difficult to interpret. And we want to be able to provide that guidance so that laboratories can stay compliant with maybe a more complete understanding of what the compliance actually does require and make it easier for laboratories to maintain. compliance.
- Speaker #0
As laboratories look ahead to 2026, is there anything else you'd like to remind labs about the Focus on Compliance webinar series?
- Speaker #1
It really is an opportunity for these webinars. We are a community, and I think a laboratory that can gather its personnel and set aside a time for everyone to get together, view the view the Focus on Compliance webinar. And as a team, they can discuss with one another how they can implement the guidance given in the Focus on Compliance so that they are getting the best performance out of their laboratory. And it's always the compliance world is all ever-changing and we want to make sure that we keep laboratories informed. of things that do need changing, do need updating. And we provide a forum for laboratories to be able to learn as a community and be able to discuss and implement the things that they need to perform at their highest level.
- Speaker #0
Find out more about the 2026 Focus on Compliance webinar on February 18th by visiting the link in today's show notes. And that's all we have for today. Check out the show notes for topics covered. You can find us on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or Spotify. Subscribe on your favorite platform. Look for more news like this in our weekly newsletters, published every Tuesday and Thursday. We'll be back tomorrow at 5 a.m. Eastern with more CAP News. For the Path News Network Daily Edition, I'm Stevan Borel. Have a great day.
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