Quality assurance programmes in Portugal in the fields of clinical chemistry and haematology
Martins, M.C.; Rodrigues, M.O.; Fonseca, A.
Annali Dell'istituto Superiore di Sanita 31(1): 37-41
1995
ISSN/ISBN: 0021-2571 PMID: 8546373 Document Number: 448903
Quality assurance programmes in Portugal in the fields of clinical chemistry and haematology are running on under the organization of the correspondent laboratories of the National Institute of Health. They are carried out with voluntary participation for public and private clinical laboratories with confidentiality of results. The design comprehends two parts, each one supplementing the other: internal quality control, external quality assessment being the motivation for quality assurance usually done through courses and laboratory activities organized even before the laboratories enter the external scheme. In clinical chemistry: with six trials a year and 23 parameters to be analysed, the target values are assigned by reference laboratories. The survey reports involve a personal message and an Youden plot being the assessment of performance done either by a deviation index (DI) or, on enzymes, by a consensus value established among the participants. Yearly an individual message is produced to report the evolution of laboratory results. The state of the art shows a good performance of reference laboratories. The participant laboratories still evidence some difficulties on enzymes, bilirubin, creatinine, urates and urea determinations. In haematology the target value is the consensus median value of participant laboratories using the same kind of equipment, semi and totally automated. As survey reports two kinds of computer forms are produced: an individual message where each laboratory results are compared with the others through a DI, an yearly message with the DI evolution. Up to this date ten surveys a year are carried on for general haematology.