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External Quality Assessment: an effective tool for Clinical Governance in Laboratory Medicine

  • Laura Sciacovelli , Sandra Secchiero , Lorena Zardo , Martina Zaninotto and Mario Plebani
Published/Copyright: September 21, 2011
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Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (CCLM)
From the journal Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (CCLM) Volume 44 Issue 6

Abstract

The implementation of Clinical Governance will require a redefinition of duties and accountability as a prerequisite to develop and achieve an overall improvement in clinical care through a culture of assessment and monitoring of quality. External Quality Assessment Schemes (EQAS) are the main tool enabling laboratories to measure the quality of their results; they must carefully assess and monitor all elements contributing to the formulation of laboratory information (results, reference ranges/decisional levels, interpretative comments and diagnostic algorithms). There are different ways to design and manage a Scheme and EQAS coordinators are mainly responsible for its effectiveness. The present paper reports, as an example, some experiences of the Centre of Biomedical Research (CRB), which manages EQAS according to high quality specifications and laboratories' needs, that can reflect the Clinical Governance philosophy. Our findings show that EQAS are able to control all the above aspects and, if organisers are committed to fulfilling the responsibility and accountability principles, they will be of great value in quality assessment and in developing an External Quality Assurance Program (EQAP). This is an inter-laboratory comparison designed and conducted to assure the following: evaluation of participants' performance (by evaluating not only analytical performance, but also test interpretation, and advice for clinicians on laboratory requests and diagnosis); evaluation of method performance; and continuous education, training and help. The main aim of the activities of an EQAP in Laboratory Medicine is to sustain improvements in the quality of services provided by participating laboratories for the benefit of patients.

Keywords: Clinical Governance; External Quality Assessment; interpretative comments; medical laboratories; quality specifications; unacceptable performance
Corresponding author: Laura Sciacovelli, Centro di Ricerca Biomedica, Via Ospedale 18, 31033 Castelfranco, Veneto (TV), Italy

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Published Online: 2011-9-21
Published in Print: 2006-6-1

©2006 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin New York

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Foreword
  2. Evidence-based policy-making
  3. Clinical Governance – from rhetoric to reality?
  4. Realising the developmental potential of Clinical Governance
  5. Re-energising Clinical Governance through Integrated Governance
  6. Clinical Governance: from clinical risk management to continuous quality improvement
  7. Involvement of patients in Clinical Governance
  8. Teaching and Continuing Professional Development: an Italian experience
  9. New National Healthcare Information System
  10. Clinical Governance and Laboratory Medicine: is the Electronic Medical Record our best friend or sworn enemy?
  11. Technology to improve quality and accountability
  12. Clinical Governance and evidence-based laboratory medicine
  13. ISO 15189:2003 – Quality management, evaluation and continual improvement
  14. External Quality Assessment: an effective tool for Clinical Governance in Laboratory Medicine
  15. Errors in clinical laboratories or errors in laboratory medicine?
  16. Laboratory request appropriateness in emergency: impact on hospital organization
  17. Point-of-care-testing and Clinical Governance
  18. Integration between the Tele-Cardiology Unit and the central laboratory: methodological and clinical evaluation of point-of-care testing cardiac marker in the ambulance
https://doi.org/10.1515/CCLM.2006.133
Keywords for this article
Clinical Governance; External Quality Assessment; interpretative comments; medical laboratories; quality specifications; unacceptable performance

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Foreword
  2. Evidence-based policy-making
  3. Clinical Governance – from rhetoric to reality?
  4. Realising the developmental potential of Clinical Governance
  5. Re-energising Clinical Governance through Integrated Governance
  6. Clinical Governance: from clinical risk management to continuous quality improvement
  7. Involvement of patients in Clinical Governance
  8. Teaching and Continuing Professional Development: an Italian experience
  9. New National Healthcare Information System
  10. Clinical Governance and Laboratory Medicine: is the Electronic Medical Record our best friend or sworn enemy?
  11. Technology to improve quality and accountability
  12. Clinical Governance and evidence-based laboratory medicine
  13. ISO 15189:2003 – Quality management, evaluation and continual improvement
  14. External Quality Assessment: an effective tool for Clinical Governance in Laboratory Medicine
  15. Errors in clinical laboratories or errors in laboratory medicine?
  16. Laboratory request appropriateness in emergency: impact on hospital organization
  17. Point-of-care-testing and Clinical Governance
  18. Integration between the Tele-Cardiology Unit and the central laboratory: methodological and clinical evaluation of point-of-care testing cardiac marker in the ambulance
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