In the current pandemic, the microbiology laboratory plays a central role in testing. To meet the demand for SARS-CoV-2 molecular testing, many laboratories have expanded testing capacity by adding multiple molecular instruments. However, this has left laboratories with questions regarding proficiency testing (PT) requirements for these additional instruments, as two CAP members, Dr. Bobbi Pritt and Dr. Lauren Pearson, explain in this CAPcast interview. Dr. Pritt is the Chair of the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory and a Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. She currently serves as chair of the CAP Microbiology Committee. Dr. Pearson is Assistant Professor of Pathology at the University of Utah and Laboratory Director of University of Utah Health Sciences Center Clinical Laboratories. She serves as chair of the CAP Instrumentation Committee.

If your laboratory could benefit from the Quality Cross Check program discussed in this interview, more information is available on the CAP web site. Go to cap.org and click on the “SHOP” link in the upper right corner to visit our online store. The program code is COV2Q. Interested participants can enroll for 2020 participation; the shipping date will be October 26. For 2021 enrollment, interested laboratories can add this program to their 2021 PT order renewal. For description: https://capatholo.gy/2FBbSal.