American Veterinary Pathology Associates, PLLC
Veterinarian owned & operated
Veterinarian owned & operated
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We are a family owned and operated veterinary pathology service located in the beautiful lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas. We provide affordable, personalized, quality diagnostic pathology services with rapid turnaround times. Our pathologists have extensive expertise in diagnostic histopathology, cytology, clinical chemistry & hematology.
Community Reference Laboratory
2121 Pease Street, Suite 102
Harlingen, TX 78550
info@americanvetpath.com
(540) 998-4451
Policies of American Veterinary Pathology Associates PLLC
Medical Records
Hard copy: Hard copies of every report (diagnostic & research) that AVPA generates are organized by year, month, & case number, are kept on file in a secure location (file cabinet) at the company’s main office. The hard copy reports are kept for a minimal of 5-years.
Electronic copy, local: Electronic copies of every report (diagnostic & research) that AVPA generates are stored in two different digital formats, organized by year, month, & case number, and are kept on file on two hard-drives – backed up daily, indefinitely (> 5-years).
Electronic copy, cloud: Electronic copies of every report (diagnostic & research) that AVPA generates are stored in two different digital formats, organized by year, month, & case number, and are kept on file on a secure internet-based cloud services, indefinitely (> 5-years).
Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue blocks: All cases (diagnostic & research) that result in the creation of FFPE tissue blocks are organized by year, month, & case number are stored at an off-site hospital location and kept for a minimum of 5-years.
Glass slides: All glass slides (diagnostic & research), organized by year, month & case number are stored at the company’s headquarters and are kept for a minimum of 5-years.
These policies ensure that AVPA complies with laws of the State of Texas & the United States and its territories as well as ensures that AVPA medical record keeping is in accordance with third party policies and standards (e.g., American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD), etc.) and keeps research studies performed by AVPA in compliance with FDA Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) as described by the code of federal regulations 21 part 58 (CFR21-58).
Privacy
The policies of American Veterinary Pathology Associates PLLC (AVPA) ensure that services (diagnostic & research) provided by AVPA are maintained in complete confidence and with the utmost privacy of clients in mind.Information provided to AVPA and communications between AVPA and practitioner or AVPA and researcher is strictly confidential and intended only for use by the researcher or veterinary practice that submitted the original case material.
Inquiries for clarification or discussions from third parties, such as: regulatory bodies, referral specialists, other veterinarians, patient owners or insurance companies will only be discussed after written permission is provided to AVPA by the veterinarian or researcher from whom the case material originated. Third parties can seek report clarification, discussion, or other information only if they are named specifically in the signed “Consent to Release Agreement” by the veterinarian or researcher that submitted the original case material.
Information that does not disclose a patient’s or client’s identity may be used by AVPA Pathologists for education or scientific purposes, including scientific publications, seminar presentations, and conferences.
Quality Assurance & Quality Control
The policies of American Veterinary Pathology Associates PLLC (AVPA) ensure that all services (diagnostic & research) performed by AVPA are accurate and of the highest standards of diagnostic veterinary medicine.AVPA is dedicated to the highest possible standards in quality assurance. In accordance with AAHA, comprehensive quality control programs are in place to ensure consistently accurate and precise test results. All laboratory methodology is in accordance with the National Committee on Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) and validated for veterinary applications, and above current standard of diagnostic veterinary medicine.
AVPA is compliant with FDA Good Laboratory Practices (GLP), as detailed in CFR 21, part 58. As such, we maintain an independent quality assurance (QA) unit that monitors our facility and GLP studies.
AVPA follows the federal guidelines under the Clinical Laboratories Improvement Act, and those of the Commonwealth of Virginia. We also participate in proficiency testing programs provided by respected third party agencies.
Links
American Association of Veterinary Laboratory DiagnosticiansClinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)
Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute
Good Laboratory Practices: CFR Title 21 part 58
Veterinary Laboratory Association Quality Program
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