BASICS AND BEST PRACTICES FOR MONITORING QUALITY INDICATORS IN CLINICAL LABORATORY

Clinical laboratories provide benets in terms of quality standards to all the stakeholders in the health –care settings. But there should be strategies to produce error-free reports and to improve the total testing process. Up-gradation of the automation involved in the laboratory medicine has a direct impact on the quality output. Quality Indicators are measurement tools to evaluate the performance throughout critical aspects of pre-examination, examination and post-examination process. “Six sigma” is also adapted to measure outcome of a process in clinical laboratories in clinical laboratories by the application of principles and tools. Further, “Lean Six Sigma” Method involves the steps abbreviated as DMAIC that is dene, measure, analyse , improve and control the process on the basis of comparison with the quality standards, statistical calculations which are later analysed to understand the root causes of variances and once the defect is pinpointed, the preventive measures are taken to check the problem, so that the error does not occur henceforth. Various Quality Indicators are maintained by the clinical laboratories which include turnaround time, timeliness, sample haemolysis, kit control, equipment downtime, transcription errors etc. in the total testing process or cycle. There are several advantages of monitoring the Quality Indicators in Clinical Laboratory .Globally, in order to bring about uniformity, it should be a continuous process and monitored on regular basis for xed time intervals. Monitoring of Quality indicators not only detect the errors but enables to improve upon the quality of the clinical laboratories output on regular basis. All the non-conformities should be registered, monitored, rectied and later systemized. Each clinical laboratory should establish its own design to monitor tools such as “Quality Indicators” in the implementation of total Quality Management System.