Sa. Galel et Ca. Richards, PRACTICAL APPROACHES TO IMPROVE LABORATORY PERFORMANCE AND TRANSFUSION SAFETY, American journal of clinical pathology, 107(4), 1997, pp. 43-49
Laboratory quality can be defined as ''doing the right thing right.''
The chance of doing the right thing right is greater if basic process
control systems are implemented in laboratories. The elements of proce
ss control were reviewed, and practical suggestions for organizing pro
cedures, training, determining competency, maintaining equipment, and
implementing self-assessment and process improvement activities were o
ffered. Although process control can improve the reliability of intern
al operations, the quality of patient care can be further improved by
extending this level of control outward to include interaction with pa
tients. Finally, to expand the concept of quality, quality activities
must be extended toward a multidisciplinary model of coordinated care.