The importance of Internal Quality Controls in medical laboratories to ensure high quality results

Abstract

Objective: Internal quality control plays a crucial role in the quality assurance of biological laboratories, ensuring both the monitoring of equipment performance and the reliability of test results. However, the adoption and acceptability strategies for these controls vary from laboratory to laboratory. Improved quality of results based on the standardizing of the internal quality control material selection, target and range assignments, and statistical rules used, validation and troubleshooting methods. The formation of networked laboratories presents additional challenges to internal quality control systems, as robust cross-site programs are required to ensure comparability of results. In this paper, we aim to redefine the foundations of key internal quality control theory, and outline a strategy to simplify the problem detection. We will also attempt to define a set of recommendations to bring internal quality control laboratory practice to the required standard, to ensure high quality laboratory results and thus patient safety.
METHODS: This study focuses on gathering essential laboratory quality controls, and give clear overview for it. It explains the differences between: Quality control, Quality assurance, Accreditation and certification, Different kinds of laboratory tests quality controls, Standard operating procedures.
FINDINGS: To set up an efficient quality system in a medical biology laboratory requires a long implementation phase that includes: Proper training, Planning, Documentation, Organization. This cannot be accomplished without a clear communication. This method may potentially be harmful to the patients if it impedes the results communication owing to misleading IQC rejections. Furthermore, it encourages the laboratories to broaden the coefficients of the variation (CVs) of the control chart follow-up by employing Westgard guidelines for CVs that do not correctly mirror the real dispersion of IQC values. The Sigma index appears to be the solutions as it entails determining the numbers of controls needed, their frequency, and the Westgard rules to be used depending on the performance of each technique and the clinical criteria connected with each parameter.
CONCLUSION: The Sigma index is the most efficient method that involves calculating the number of controls required, and their frequency, while Westgard rules are based on the performance of each technique and their clinical criteria associated. Overall, the quality application must prioritize patient benefit while remaining realistic, practical, and effective. It is critical not to fall into the trap of over-quality, which can be costly, and demotivating and to never lose the sight of what is essential and most important: patient service.