QUALITY ASSESSMENT ARTICLES

Sharing knowledge is the key to more accurate laboratory testing, and also for longer-term, better patient outcomes. Scheme Directors Melody Tabiner and Richard Haggas reveal the many and varied ways in which UK NEQAS shares its expert knowledge.

Dr Deborah Pritchard and Dr Gwen Wark, members of the UK NEQAS Board, explain how UK NEQAS gives users the confidence that they are providing the best results for their assays, and clinical teams and patients the reassurance that they are receiving the correct information to manage health conditions and treatment.

Barbara De la Salle, President Elect of UK NEQAS and Dina Patel, Scientific Director for UK NEQAS Immunology, Immunochemistry and Allergy (IIA) offer a look inside UK NEQAS and how it works in practice. They share real-world examples to demonstrate who are UK NEQAS, and how the organisation delivers exceptional value to clinical and scientific stakeholders.

UK NEQAS CPT currently has an EQA scheme for digital pathology in a pre-pilot phase. Here, Scheme Manager Lorren Mitchell details the research and planning required to ensure it will be suitable and effective for this evolving field.

External quality assessment of point-of-care testing provision is now an integral part of laboratory accreditation to the new ISO 15189 UKAS standards. Here, Sanjiv Rughooputh and colleagues from the UK Health Security Agency focus on the need for EQA of a respiratory virus POC service.

Reticulocyte haemoglobin content is an automated cell counting parameter that can deliver extra information with clinical utility in the investigation of iron deficiency. Here, Yvonne Hector, Barbara De la Salle and NHS colleagues in Plymouth report on a recent pilot external quality assessment exercise undertaken by UK NEQAS Haematology.

Point-of-care testing for the SARS-CoV-2 has expanded exponentially over the past two years, resulting in the need for an external quality assessment scheme for this activity. Here, Heather Crowton and colleagues introduce a new EQA scheme.