IMPACT OF QUALITY INDICATORS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF CLINICAL SEROLOGY LABORATORY

BACKGROUND Monitoring of quality indicators covering the critical areas of total testing process in pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical phases have a significant impact on performance of laboratory as 80-90% of clinical diagnosis and treatment is made on the basis of laboratory test results in healthcare. Aim of the study is to evaluate the performance of serology laboratory with the implementation of set of quality indicators. Study Design -This is a prospective observational study conducted in serology section of clinical microbiology laboratory, Gandhi Hospital, Hyderabad, from July 2013 to June 2014. MATERIALS AND METHODS All the blood/serum samples received for routine serology were included in the study. A total of 32,026 samples were received and analysed using rapid methods and ELISA. Quality indicators selected were Sample Rejection Rate (SRR), incomplete Test Request Form (TRF), repeat testing, Proficiency Testing Performance (PTP) failures evaluation by EQAS and ILC, Turnaround Time (TAT) and Critical alert reporting. Selected indicators were monitored progressively over time. RESULT A significant change in performance of serology laboratory observed after implementation of Quality indicators. Major impact was observed in incomplete TRF, which reduced from 16.34% to 4.5% followed by reduced sample rejection rate from 9.82% to 1.50%. Most significant improvement was observed in pre-analytical phase and post-analytical phase, but not much impact on analytical phase in Total Testing Process (TTP). CONCLUSION Quality indicators have huge impact on the performance of diagnostic laboratory services in patient care.