April 26, 2023
AABB joined a coalition of clinical laboratory organizations urging policymakers to include the medical and public health laboratory workforce when developing policy solutions to address health care workforce shortages.
In the letter, the organizations emphasized that most medical and public health laboratories suffer from significant personnel shortages, many of which were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. These shortages now have the potential to undermine the ability of these laboratories to provide timely test results, the organizations continued, which is imperative to both public health and patient access to quality care.
In addition, the coalition noted that the Health Resource and Services Administration administers several programs designed to support the health care workforce; however, many of these programs exclude laboratory professionals. The coalition urged Congress to include laboratory professionals in all federal workforce programs to address the workforce shortages affecting medical and public health laboratories. They also asked Congress to consider how addressing visa issues could strengthen the laboratory and pathology workforce.
AABB is committed to providing resources to help the blood and biotherapies field address workforce challenges. Additional information is available on the AABB Workforce Initiatives web page.