The challenge for each laboratory, through a quality assurance system, is to create a robust set of tools that identify errors and carry out targeted activities that minimize them.
The products of the medical laboratory are an authorized report containing the results of a laboratory study, as well as patient data (name, age, sex, diagnosis), the type of biological sample, the time it was taken and delivered to the laboratory, current reference intervals for each analyte and other information. In other words, the laboratory produces and supplies to the clinician to varying degrees reliable, more often objective diagnostic information.
The use of vacuum systems is a necessary step in creating standard conditions for taking, transporting and storing biological samples of patients. The introduction of such systems affects all stages of laboratory research and generally transfers the organization of the laboratory to another level. More than 95% of blood samples in the United States and Western Europe are taken using vacuum systems.
An important role is played by the application form for analyses. A well-designed and correctly completed application form simplifies the procedure for prescribing tests by a doctor to a particular patient, and also minimizes the likelihood of errors due to the “human factor.”
Existing ideas about ensuring the quality of laboratory results as a qualitative performance of only the analytical stage is very narrow and cannot be considered a full and sufficient basis for ensuring the guaranteed quality of work of specialists in clinical laboratory diagnostics. Their work may be fruitless with an incorrectly drafted application for research, in violation of the rules for blood collection, errors made during the transportation of biomaterial to the laboratory.
