COLA Forms Alliance with American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists

COLA, a national healthcare accreditation organization, along with American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) have formed a cooperative alliance to provide COLA products and services to AACE members at discounted rates.

Columbia, MD, and Jacksonville, FL, (PRWEB) November 26, 2003 -- COLA, a national healthcare accreditation organization, along with American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) have formed a cooperative alliance to provide COLA products and services to AACE members at discounted rates. AACE members will enjoy discounts on the COLA Laboratory Accreditation program (www.cola.org), Lab University e-Learning courses (www.labuniversity.org), enduring educational products (hard copy and downloadable), and a discount if an AACE member enrolls in the COLA Physician Office Laboratory Symposium (normally 20 CMEs) which is held annually. Additionally all AACE members may enroll in COLAs Quality Assurance Part 1, e-learning course free of charge.

All e-Learning courses include CME and CEU credit. COLA and AACE have collaborated in the past to provide the Laboratory Director Program to Endocrine Fellows at the Mayo Clinic. At the conclusion of the program the fellows had met the CLIA requirement to serve as a Laboratory Director for a moderate complexity laboratory.

COLA is pleased to provide its products and services to AACE at discounted rates. The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists is committed to providing added benefits to their Association members. We have worked well together in the past and this is alliance will provide efficient means to meet necessary accreditation requirements and to provide a multiple venues for busy physicians to enhance their professional knowledge. Combining our expertise in lab accreditation and continuing education with the resources of such a reputable organization as the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists is an ideal counterpart to our services," said Douglas A. Beigel, Chief Executive Officer of COLA.

Donald C. Jones, CEO of AACE said, COLA has provided the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists with a package of discounted products and services that we feel can be valuable to many AACE members in their practice. Any AACE member can now receive a discount to accredit their laboratory and also take advantage of the discounts on COLA educational products. This alliance further enhances the list of member benefits offered by the Association."

COLA is a nonprofit, physician-directed organization promoting quality and excellence in medicine and patient care through programs of voluntary education, achievement, and accreditation. COLA has completed over 33,000 laboratory surveys. For more information about COLA accreditation services and educational products, please call 800-981-9883 or visit COLAs Web Site at www.cola.org. For more information on COLAs on-line healthcare educational opportunities visit www.labuniveristy.org.

The mission of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) is to provide and promote education, research and communication in the art and science of clinical endocrinology and to provide appropriate recognition of advances and achievements relating to clinical endocrinology. AACE is an international professional medical association with over 4,400 members throughout the United States and over 70 foreign countries. Endocrinologists have specialized training and expertise in the treatment of endocrine diseases including diabetes, thyroid, pituitary and calcium disorders including osteoporosis as well as cholesterol and nutritional.
###