Quality assurance in medical laboratory is very essential, since it is controlling every step in laboratory. Quality assurance guarantees releasing a trustworthy laboratory result. So in this page we will try to discuss this subject.
Quality assurance:
It is continuous process and systematic activity to measure and evaluate the quality of service according to measurable standards to analyze identified problems or defects and taking the necessary actions to improve the performance and then to monitor the quality to define the extend of improvement.
Total quality management:
It is well organized process of combined administrative and clinical system to perform the needs expectations of customer through contributions of all providers for continuous improvement in the service, process and it has flexibility to change quickly as customer requirements changes.
Continuous quality improvement:
It is dynamic process to improve the quality of services to customer through continuous collecting data, analyzing, corrective actions and monitoring the outcome results for the target.
The organization shall have a planned, systematic and ongoing monitoring and evaluation process to ensure the organization's commencement to provide high quality patient's care is maintained.
Accurate:
They should be as close as possible to real value.
Precise:
They should be as close as possible to each other if the test is repeated several times.
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| Accuracy and Precision |
Timely result:
Mean that the results are available to the doctor in a reasonable time.
All quality assurance activities should have the following characteristics.
- Planned, systematic and ongoing.
- Comprehensive.
- Based on indicators and criteria that are agreed by the staff and acceptable to the organization.
- accomplished through routine collection and penalize evaluation of data.
- Appropriate actions are taken to resolve identified problems.
- Follow-up to ensure improvements maintained.
- Information from departmental monitoring and evaluation activities is shared with other departments and integrated as appropriate with information obtained throughout the organization.
Quality assurance cycle
- Planning.
- Setting standards.
- communicating standards.
- Monitoring quality.
- Identify problems and select opportunities for improvement.
- Define the problems operationally.
- Identify who needs to work on the problems.
- Analyze and study the problem to identify major cause.
- Develop solutions and actions for Q.A improvement.
- Implement and evaluate quality improvements efforts.
1. Assign responsibility:
a. involve organization leader.
b. Design and Forster approach to continuous improvement of quality.
c. Set priorities for assessment and improvement.
Identify key functions and/or identify the procedures, treatment and other activities performed in the organization.3. Identify important aspects of care and services.
4. Identify indicators:a. Determine the key functions, treatment, processes and other aspects of care and service that warrant ongoing monitoring.b. Establish priorities among the important aspects of care and service chosen.
5. Establish thresholds for evaluation.a. Identify teams to develop indicators for the important aspects of cars and service.b. Select indicators.
a. Each team identifies thresholds for each indicator.6. collect and organize data
b. Select threshold.
7. Initiate evaluation.a. Each team identifies data sources and data collection methods for the recommended indicator.b. The data collection methodology is designed and those responsible for collection, organization and applying thresholds are identified.c. collect data.d. Collect data from other sources including patient and staff surveys, comments, suggestions and complaints.
a. Apply threshold s for evaluation to indicator data.
b. Initiate evaluation of aspects of care or service if threshold is reach.
c. assess other feedback (for example staff suggestions, patient satisfaction, survey results) that may contribute to priority setting for evaluation.
d. set priorities for evaluation.
e. Teams undertake intensive evaluation.
9. Assess the effectiveness of activities and maintain the gain.
a. assess to determine whether care and service have improved.
b. If not further action is determine.
c. repeat step 8a. & 8b. until improvement is achieved and maintained.
d. Monitoring is maintained and priorities for monitoring and the indicators are periodically reassessed.
a. Teams forward conclusions, actions and results to leaders to relevant individuals, committees, departments and services.b. Disseminate information as necessary.c. Leaders and others receive and disseminate comments, reactions and information from involved individuals and groups.
Indicators of low quality
- Accidents
- Abusing the system
- Complaints
- Resources misuse
- Multiple supervisors
- Dissatisfaction of providers or consumers
- Duplication
- Transfer, resignation and despatchment
- Morals down
- Administration of crisis
- Central obstacles
- Work confusion
- Blame worker for solving problems
- Worker re-training for the same project
- Reputation of work
- Deletions
- Sickness
- postponing and delaying
