Performance monitoring and transfusion QAP performance levels

Abstract

This presentation will endeavour to provide an understanding of Performance Monitoring in Quality Assurance of Transfusion as measured by a project undertaken by the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA) Quality Assurance Program (QAP) in 2012. In 2001 the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) sought proposals to undertake an evaluation of Australian pathology laboratory accreditation arrangements. Recommendations from the report were that (1) the DoHA and the Health Insurance Commission seek the cooperation of the RCPA QAP to establish explicit external quality assurance performance criteria and a mechanism for the RCPA QAP to identify relatively poorly performing laboratories; (2) RCPA QAP and other external quality assurance providers regularly submit to the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) reports identifying laboratories that are poorly performing according to these agreed performance criteria. The review process included establishment of a methodology/scoring system; a retrospective data analysis; establishment of criteria for acceptable performance based on the retrospective data analysis and reasonable expectations for completing a corrective action. Information and results from QAP surveys was used to assess individual participant data against established criteria to provide laboratories of an objective measure of their performance relative to their peers whilst meeting the needs of the performance review process.