Accrediting agencies, including AABB, The Joint Commission (TJC), and the College of American Pathologists (CAP), each detail their own emergency plan requirements and procedures.
TJC provides
a list of external resources that outline various forms of emergency response, including standards and forms, disaster planning for healthcare facilities, emergency management training, and public health emergencies.
CAP provides the Laboratory Preparedness Exercise (LPX). LPX was developed as a collaborative effort between CAP, the CDC, and the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL). This program sends laboratories live organisms that either exhibit characteristics of bioterrorism agents or demonstrate epidemiologic importance. Laboratories are expected to respond by following the Laboratory Response Network Sentinel Laboratory Guidelines if a bioterrorism agent is suspected. According to the
CAP 2023 Surveys and Anatomic Pathology Education Programs document, "All agents provided are excluded from the CDC’s select agent list. These may include strains of
Bacillus anthracis, Yersinia pestis, Francisella tularensis, and
Brucella abortus that have been modified and are safe for testing in a laboratory that contains a certified Class II Biological Safety Cabinet and is capable of handling Category A and B agents." This program aims to improve laboratory identification of bioterrorism agents and provide laboratory staff with the experience of properly responding to one in an emergency event.
