Participation in external quality assessment programmes helps medical laboratories and their clients have assurance that they provide accurate information to make decisions that influence plans and activities in health care. Successful participation in EQA programmes is required for laboratories to comply with the requirements of international standards governing their progress to accreditation.
Therefore, a goal of this section of the regional coordination component of the project was to facilitate increased participation in EQA programmes in the main testing areas of the clinical laboratories.
Main Outcomes of EQA initiative
- Cooperation between CAREC and the project for acquisition and distribution of EQA material to regional laboratories.
- Visits and discussions with PT providers (Randox, DigitalPT, QMP-LS) and a pilot project led to expansion of the programmes. Arrangements are in place with Randox and DigitalPT for laboratories to purchase cost effective panels in all disciplines of laboratory examinations. The participants also have electronic access to PT provider databases for reporting results and accessing reports while receiving support to examine discordant results.
- Facilitation of discussions with Guyana and DigitalPT /CEQAL with consequent training for the building of the country’s interlaboratory PT programme using the DigitalPT systems.
- A Quality Assurance laboratory was built by the project on the CAREC compound to facilitate the expansion of the EQA programme that should build on the initiatives for collaborating with the providers of PT programmes.