Accreditation of pathology laboratories in Finland

The Finnish Accreditation Service (FINAS) accredits testing laboratories in all fields including medical laboratories according to European standard E N 45001 and ISO Guide 25. At the beginning of 1998, FINAS published a recom mendation on I-row to apply general standards in histo- and cytopathology. Four pathology laboratories have been accredited to date. FINAS has not inc luded autopsies in these accreditations. The International Academy of Patho logy (IAP)-Finnish Division has recognized 21 pathology laboratories accord ing to standards of their own. Although accreditation by FINAS is not conne cted to the system of the IAP-Finnish Division, the requirements are very s imilar in both. Less than half of the pathology laboratories in Finland par ticipate in national quality improvement programme or have been accredited by FINAS.