Creating awareness for clinical lab quality and assisting labs to improve

Undoubtedly everyone who works in the clinical laboratory agrees that quality is important, but how is quality defined, how is it measured, and what does the quality function entail?  This haze around what constitutes quality in the lab often leads to confusion about the quality role.  This article presents tried-and-true tips to ensure the success of your lab's quality program.

Making An Evidence Based Financial Case for Investment in Lab Quality Quality with COPQ

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Any seasoned laboratorian knows it is incredibly unlikely that not one thing went wrong in a given laboratory for one month, let alone an entire quarter. Remediation of issues and continuous improvement can only occur once the organization recognizes the existence of NCEs and takes steps to eliminate their root causes. An effective NCE management program allows a laboratory to capture and tackle these issues in a systematic manner. In order to fully leverage your NCE management program, there are a few key steps that will position your lab for success.

Learn about Cost of Poor Quality (CoPQ) and how you can use this concept as a tool to improve your bottom line through investment in quality. Contact us for an Excel based tool to help you calculate CoPQ and for consultations on how you can get started tracking CoPQ in your lab!

Production demands often trump quality initiatives in the lab. Lack of involvement and investment in lab quality programs can negatively affect patient safety, accreditation and regulatory status, reimbursement, and workplace culture, as well as introduce legal risks and costs to the laboratory. 

ISO 15189 is the international gold standard for quality in the clinical lab. Many labs are pursuing voluntary accreditation or incorporating ISO 15189 into their quality programs. As this standard is relatively new, many lab leaders struggle with where to start.