QUALITY ASSURANCE CONTROL ISSUES - IAC TASK-FORCE SUMMARY/

General definitions of quality assurance and quality control (QA/C) ha ve existed in many forms for decades, and a new discipline guides thei r application to diverse industrial and recently medical processes wit hout much fanfare. However, in the field of cervical cytology screenin g, the range of QA/C options has recently broadened and become controv ersial. With the advent of new systems of terminology, larger-scale la boratories and new technologies-plus strong governmental and legal pre ssures in some nations-the range of extremely difficult and sometimes expensive QA/C choices our community faces is greater than ever.At our conference, the basic definitions of QA/C posed little difficulty. Pr esentation of the range of methods in use today and of those based on new technologies where use is proposed or has just begun also was achi eved with little or no dispute. However, there was lack of consensus o n exactly how QA/C methods are to be assessed. Indeed, there was littl e consistency in the use of different outcome measures with which we c an judge success or failure of specific QA/C options. In addition, the tension between pressure to adopt sometimes uncertain or expensive me thod enhancements and pressure to maintain affordability and the wides t possible access for populations that most need cervical cytology scr eening is greater than ever. Ongoing Issues More data are required tha t would enable assessment of QA/C options with the clearest possible u nderstanding of cost/benefits and current or new assumptions of risk. Other task forces, such as medicolegal, cost/benefit and those devoted to new technologies, are our essential partners in meeting the challe nges described above.