Prevention of extra-analytical phase errors by non-analytical automation in clinical laboratory

Abstract

Abstract During previous decades, significant improvements in laboratory errors have become a substantial part of reducing preventable diagnostic errors. In clinical laboratory practice, the errors in the testing process are primarily associated with extra-analytical phase error sources, influencing the test result quality profoundly. Thus, the management of these critical error sources makes their effects preventable thanks to automation and computer sciences. The implementation of non-analytical automated systems requires a risk management strategy based on laboratory’s workflow and bottlenecks. Then, the improvements can be measured and evaluated by the usage of quality indicators (QI). Consequently, the total quality of laboratory diagnostics and higher patient safety is closely dependent on this type of automation. This review will help laboratory professionals, managers, and directors improve the total testing processes (TTP). The automation technologies have added a serious impact on the proficiency of laboratory medicine. Several instrumentations have now partially or entirely automated many manual tasks to improve standardization, organization, efficiency, and TTP quality. The implementation of non-analytical automation has made them manageable. As a result, non-analytical automation within and outside the clinical laboratory will necessarily lessen the error sources’ effect on the total test process, enhancing the quality of the test results.