1. Quality Assurance

2. What is Quality Assurance
The activities designated to increase the quality of the product or service through process or system changes that increase efficiency or effectiveness.
It is The pledge of health care professionals to work to achieve the highest degree of excellence in the health care give every patient.

3. What does QA Encompass??
1. Comprehensive set of policies and procedures developed to ensure the reliability of laboratory testing.
2. QA Includes:
Quality Control
Personnel orientation
Laboratory documentation
Knowledge of laboratory instruments
Enrollment in a proficiency testing program
Establishing a series of operating procedures to produce reliable laboratory results for the benefit of the patient, the physician and the medical assistant who does the testing.

4. Encompasses
The Quality Assurance system enables the laboratory to assess, verify and document the quality of the test result.
Quality Assurance benefits, the physician, the patient and the Medical Assistant by assuring the reliability of test results.

5. Quality Control
Ensures the accuracy of the test results while detecting and eliminating error.
Why is Quality Control important?
Patient’s treatment is often based on or re-enforced by results of laboratory tests.
Quality Control is mandated by law.

6. Quality Control Continued
It monitors all aspects of laboratory activity from
Specimen collection
Processing specimens
Testing
Reporting
The program checks supplies, reagents, machinery, personnel and actual test performance without a QC program, laboratory error is difficult to detect unless the physician would notice test results inconsistent with patient history. Undetected laboratory errors may result in harm to the patient.

7. Quality Control QC can be any of the listed:
Specially prepared QC samples are tested daily along with patient samples. Results of testing performed on QC samples must be within a pre-established range before patient samples can be released.
Controls provided with pre-packaged kits must be run with each specimen tested

8. Quality Control QC can be any of the listed:
Laboratory instruments must be standardized to ensure proper operation and accurate test results. A program of preventative maintenance must be in place to assure that scheduled cleaning, service and replacement of parts is done on a regular basis.
Accurate record keeping; Results of QC testing is documented when completed and preventative maintenance is also documented.
Importance of employee records as well….kept for 30 years.

9. Accuracy and Precision
Accuracy: Refers to the deviation of a measurement from a standard or true value of the quantity being measured.
Precision: Tells us how close a group o measurements are to one another
It is possible for a group of values to be precise without being accurate.

10. Accuracy and Precision Diagramed

11. Accuracy Precision
Both accuracy and precision are necessary in order to ensure that results are valid. In general, failure to achieve either accuracy requirements or precision requirements is sufficient to constitute a failed test or calibration.