Quality refers to the amount of the unpriced attributes contained in each unit of the priced attribute.Leffler, 1982Quality is neither mind nor matter, but a third entity independent of the two, even though Quality cannot be defined, you know what it is.Pirsig, 2000The continuous formulation of good practices and procedures across fields reflects t

Quality Assurance (QA) is an integral and very important part of laboratory medicine. Pathologists, microbiologists, biochemists and laboratory technicians all need to be proficient in this subject. QA is also mandatory for obtaining accreditation, which ensures a certain level of quality in services being provided. The subject of Quality Assurance (QA), though not new, is a relatively neglected entity and is looked at with some degree of apprehension. This book is addressed to those entrusted with implementing Quality Assurance (QA) in laboratory medicine; generally, these are persons with basic training as pathologists. This handbook is meant as a beginner and handy guide to Quality Assurance; all the basics of Quality Assurance have been incorporated to encourage the beginner to make a start.

Achieving, maintaining and improving accuracy, timeliness and reliability are major challenges for health laboratories. Countries worldwide committed themselves to build national capacities for the detection of, and response to, public health events of international concern when they decided to engage in the International Health Regulations implementation process. Only sound management of quality in health laboratories will enable countries to produce test results that the international community will trust in cases of international emergency. This handbook was developed through collaboration between the WHO Lyon Office for National Epidemic Preparedness and Response, the United States of America Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Laboratory Systems, and the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). It is based on training sessions and modules provided by the CDC and WHO in more than 25 countries, and on guidelines for implementation of ISO 15189 in diagnostic laboratories, developed by CLSI. This handbook is intended to provide a comprehensive reference on Laboratory Quality Management System for all stakeholders in health laboratory processes, from management, to administration, to bench-work laboratorians. This handbook covers topics that are essential for quality management of a public health or clinical laboratory. They are based on both ISO 15189 and CLSI GP26-A3 documents. Each topic is discussed in a separate chapter. The chapters follow the framework developed by CLSI and are organized as the "12 Quality System Essentials".

The book presents a qualitative and quantitative approach to understand, manage and enforce the integration of statistical concepts into quality control and quality assurance methods. Utilizing a sound theoretical and practical foundation and illustrating procedural techniques through scientific examples, this book bridges the gap between statistical quality control, quality assurance and quality management. Detailed procedures have been omitted because of the variety of equipment and commercial kits used in today's clinical laboratories. Instrument manuals and kit package inserts are the most reliable reference for detailed instructions on current analytical procedures.