A physician office laboratory (POL) is a laboratory where only a small set of laboratory tests are offered. The tests usually pertain to the physician's specialty or the types of patients the physician sees.
POLs were not regulated prior to CLIA, which now regulates them to address the quality of work performed. Most testing that is performed in POLs falls into the waived testing CLIA category. In POLs where only waived testing is performed, there are no CLIA personnel requirements.
Examples of tests performed at POLs include urinalysis chemical dipsticks, blood glucose monitors, rapid strep A kits, urine pregnancy kits, and occult blood testing.
