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oct23

Beware the risk of bad lab results

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Did you see the Canadian TV documentary "Motherisk hair testing scandal" documentary, or have you had experience with medical laboratory results that misled doctors or lawyers to harm patients? The inherent root problem is twofold and widespread: people with zero proof of competency in best practice assume responsibility for laboratory quality internal and external audits and inspections fail to reveal quality control practices that cannot be verified to guarantee acceptable patient care. This should not have happened at Sick Children's Hospital in 2015! ----------------------------------------- See the YouTube video and discussions here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA_rw_CRcx8 Read the details: http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/blog/motherisk-hair-testing-scandal-timeline Read more about the Motherisk Drug Testing Laboratory's history and the ... Read More
October 23, 2017Zoe Brooks

Can You Detect Me Now?

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Can You Detect Me Now? by George Sweeney Is risk acceptable? It is a simple Yes or No. EP 23-A lists these Potential Failure Modes: reagent deterioration during shipment calibration deterioration sample data entry error low-value sample clots from the sample sample carryover fault caused by maintenance use of expired reagents use of deteriorated reagents spectrophotometric drift operator changing measuring system settings power fluctuations Can you detect all of these failure modes? Some? How much would any of these affect your patient results if they go unnoticed? What effect would the deterioration of the calibrator have on patient results? Would your Quality System detect changes indicating any of the above? As long as your controls are stable ... Read More
August 17, 2017George Sweeney

Hoping to See YOU in San Diego!

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The clock is ticking down to the start of the AACC 2017 Annual Meeting/ASCLS Annual Meeting! If you click on the image below, you will be taken to the page on our site where you have the opportunity to complete an anonymous survey, the results of which will be part of my Brown Bag Talks. Also, take a moment to sign up for free downloads and updates! I hope to see you at the AACC / ASCLS meeting in San Diego next week! Please check out my posters and BrownBag session. ASCLS Poster: Risk Management and Quality Control in ... Read More
July 25, 2017Zoe Brooks

Mirror Images: Why We Need Them (and How to Get Them)

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Mirror Images: Why We Need Them (and How to Get Them)  by Kim Przekop, MBA MLS(ASCP)CM, author, educator, quality champion Commutability– What is it? Should I be concerned about it?   In our scientific laboratory world, we strive to know which assays we can trust.  Any assay labeled gold standard or reference method gives us confidence. These methods are robust, tried and true, with proven accuracy and precision. Assays that are based on reference methods also give us confidence. Without that trust, we don’t know for sure if we are reporting accurate results. The same logic holds true for QC (quality ... Read More
June 29, 2017Kim Przekop