“…As we approach the year 2000, cases purporting CC smear misdiagnoses represent one of the fastest-growing areas in medical malpractice law. 11 Following the Wall Street Journal exposé of 1987, Congressional hearings were held, and the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA '88) was passed and subsequently implemented in 1992, 12,13 except for proficiency testing, which has remained an insurmountable logistical problem so far. Substantial coverage of the original congressional hearings on the CC smear was provided by the press, and the media has headlined a number of false negative CC smear cases that have appeared since 1988.…”