Sense and nonsense of laboratory accreditation

 An open mind is essential for the implementation and improvement of total quality management. Leadership, as such, is of no value without a vision concerning corporate culture and human resources. Therefore, constant communication between partners within a corporate body is the cornerstone for empowerment. The evaluation of ideas and complaints is considered to be essential for the identification of strengths and weaknesses of a system, whereas, competition and benchmarking may reveal surprising opportunities for improvement. We discuss the idea that customer-oriented efficiency in a hospital environment may be classified as a critical success factor.