Effective laboratory quality management towards preventing medical liability cases.

Abstract

The last decade has seen a rapid expansion of the various branches of health care services in India. This has seen a corresponding increase in consumer knowledge, which has resulted in (a) increased demand for high quality services and (b) these services to be provided in a timely manner. Medical laboratory plays a central role in the delivery of these services as over 70% of clinical decisions are taken based on laboratory reports (1). An important component in the whole process is laboratory error and an expectation to get error free services. With growing awareness amongst customers, in this case largely patients, and increasing cost, medico- legal litigations are on the rise. Court cases are often filed against doctors by patients for real or perceived reasons of dissatisfaction. Medical malpractice law suits against medical laboratories are also on the rise. This has placed a significant onus and urgency on clinical laboratories to ensure that quality and error free work practices are maintained. There has been a steady improvement in the quality of tests due to improved technology. Laboratory automation has also taken on a new level of importance in improving quality. We have the ability now to get instruments interfaced to various laboratory information systems. Information technology has consequently taken a giant leap in the field of biomedical equipment to drastically reduce manual intervention during the analytical procedure without compromising on established levels of care.