Target Values and Method Evaluation in Proficiency Testing Programs

Proficiency testing, matrix effects, and method evaluation.

Specimen materials, target values and commutability for external quality assessment (proficiency testing) schemes.

BACKGROUND The objective of external quality assessment is to evaluate clinical acceptability of laboratory results. It is desirable to evaluate intermethod harmonization and traceability to a reference system. METHODS Conventional matrix-modified processed materials are used in most programs, because they can be produced in large quantities, can have multiple abnormal analytes in the same vi...

Adding value to proficiency testing programs.

The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA 88) (1 ) have caused great changes not only in US laboratories but in clinical laboratories throughout the world. CLIA’s requirements for preand postanalytical control were harbingers of more complete approaches to the implementation of quality systems in clinical laboratories, such as the quality model just introduced by the National...

Educational Aspects Of Proficiency Testing Programs

Proficiency testing programs (PTPs) have long been recognized as a tool that accreditation bodies and regulatory authorities (regulators) use to determine whether laboratories perform tests with acceptable results. PTPs can have additional purposes. This paper argues that PTPs should be perceived and overtly promoted as tools for laboratories to use as part of their quality assurance and contin...

Determining Consensus Values in Interlaboratory Comparisons and Proficiency Testing

An important part of interlaboratory comparisons and proficiency testing is the determination of the reference value of the measurand and the associated uncertainty. It is desirable to have reference values with low uncertainty, but it is crucial that these values are reliable, i.e. they are correct within their stated uncertainty. In some cases it is possible to obtain reference values from la...