Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act

Clin·i·cal Lab·o·ra·to·ry Im·prove·ment Act

(CLIA) (klin'i-kăl lab'ră-tōr-ē im-prūv'mĕnt akt) U.S. federal legislation, and the personnel and procedures established by it under the aegis of the Commission on Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), for the surveillance and regulation of all clinical laboratory procedures in the U.S.