Tom Price: “I want to thank the American College of Pathology and all of the pathologists across the Nation who are working day in…”

“I want to thank the American College of Pathology and all of the pathologists across the Nation who are working day in and day out to make certain that they provide quality care for the patients for whom they are charged. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a copy of an article by Dr. George Nagy that documents the dysfunctional federally mandated proficiency test in cytopathology. The Dysfunctional Federally Mandated Proficiency Test in Cytopathology--A Statistical Analysis Proficiency testing in cytopathology and in other disciplines should be based on firm statistical and scientific foundations, because test theory in general is a heavily statistical subject. Statistical considerations have demonstrated that the design of ``short'' proficiency tests in cytopathology, including the current federally mandated test, fundamentally is unsound because of the lack of sufficient validity and reliability. Examinees too frequently are misclassified by such short-format tests: Competent examinees fail the test in surprisingly high numbers, whereas most of the examinees who have insufficient cytologic skills eventually pass the test after the allowed retakes.”