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HRD-83-37 1 (1983-04-06)

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REPORT BY THE U.S.                                                     L40




General Accounting Office







Centers,,For Disease Control

Should Discontinue Certain Diagnostic

Tests And Charge For Others




The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) performed
reference diagnostic tests on 103,000 specimens in
fiscal year 1981 for public health agencies, private
health care providers, clinical laboratories, and Federal
agencies at a cost of about $6.1 million.

CDC's specimen screening procedures need improve-
ment. GAO estimates that 46 percent of the specimens
tested by CDC, at a cost of about $1.9 million, were
unnecessarily conducted. These specimens should
have been, but were not, initially tested in commercial
or State laboratories. An additional 13 percent of the
remaining specimens were tested without any
information concerning patient condition or ongoing
treatment. Such information is necessary to deter-
mine the need for CDC's specialized testing and to
provide meaningful test results.

User charges of $3.3 million could have been recov-
ered from private health care providers and clinical
laboratories. An additional $662,000 in reimburse-
ments from Federal agencies could have been sought
by CDC.




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                                                            GAO/HRD-83-37
   1   ,                                                     APRIL 6, 1983

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