Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute document GP15-A3—Cervicovaginal Cytology Based on the Papanicolaou Technique; Approved Guideline—Third Edition is intended for health care providers who are responsible for collecting cervicovaginal cytology specimens and preparing conventional Papanicolaou smears and liquid-based preparations. The guideline focuses on quality collection and processing of specimens, addressing all steps, including patient assessment, test requisition, specimen collection, specimen transport, and specimen receipt and processing. Illustrations of the techniques are described, and a specimen requisition form is also included.

This third edition has been updated to provide additional information on education of the patient, design of the requisition, and specimen collection. Additional information regarding the handling and processing of liquid-based Pap tests and ancillary studies is also provided. The nomenclature of the second edition of The Bethesda System is incorporated in this edition, and handling of cases in the context of an electronic health record is discussed.

This guideline provides the most current recommendations regarding standard precautions, patient assessment, test requisition, cervicovaginal specimen collection, specimen transport, specimen receipt, specimen processing, and storage of slides. Cytologic interpretation is outside the scope of this document and is not addressed. 

This guideline is useful to health care providers, laboratory directors, supervisors, and others who have responsibilities for quality control in cytopathology laboratories.