Human Resource Management Essay
Laboratory quality can be defined as accuracy, reliability and timeliness of reported test results. The laboratory results must be as accurate as possible, all aspects of the laboratory operations must be reliable, and reporting must be timely in order to be useful in a clinical or public health setting. When making measurements, there is always some level of inaccuracy. The challenge is to reduce the level of inaccuracy as much as possible, given the limitations of our testing systems. An accuracy level of 99% may at first glance appear acceptable, but the resulting 1% error can become quite large in a system where many events occur, such as laboratory testing. Laboratories produce test results …show more content…
In a quality management system, all aspects of the laboratory operation, including the organizational structure, processes and procedures, need to be addressed to assure quality.
There are many procedures and processes that are performed in the laboratory, and each of these must be carried out correctly in order to assure accuracy and reliability of testing. An error in any part of the cycle can produce a poor laboratory result. A method of detecting errors at each phase of testing is needed if quality is to be assured
ISO standards group laboratory processes into pre-examination, examination and post-examination categories. Comparable terms in current laboratory use include: pre-analytic, analytic and post-analytic processes; or pre-test, test and post-test processes.
The entire set of operations that occur in testing is called the path of workflow. The path of workflow begins with the patient and ends in reporting and results interpretation.
The concept of the path of workflow is a key to the quality model or the quality management system, and must be considered when developing quality practices. For example, a sample that is damaged or altered as a result of improper collection or transport cannot provide a reliable result. A medical report that is delayed or lost, or poorly