QUALITY ASSURANCE IN CLINICAL BIOCHEMISTRY

There are many steps in the process between the clinician requesting a clinical biochemistry test and receiving a numerical result. Each of these steps must be subject to quality assurance techniques. Clinical biochemistry laboratories now have mature, integrated systems of inter nal quality control, external quality assessment and quality assurance to ensure that the results issued do aid in the provision of optimum patient care. The recent advent of a professionally led laboratory acc reditation scheme will stimulate further improvements in quality. Enth usiastic adoption of the techniques of quality management science, in the form of total quality management systems, will focus future attent ion on laboratories providing services to the standards dictated by co nsumers. Translation of these standards into objective operational spe cifications will then allow laboratories to adopt appropriate comprehe nsive quality assurance techniques which will guarantee the quality de manded.