Quality Assurance Review Research Articles

Endoscopy in Canada: Proceedings of the National Roundtable.

This 2014 roundtable discussion, hosted by the Canadian Association of General Surgeons, brought together general surgeons and gastroenterologists with expertise in endoscopy from across Canada to discuss the state of endoscopy in Canada. The focus of the roundtable was the evaluation of the competence of general surgeons at endoscopy, reviewing quality assurance parameters for high-quality endoscopy, measuring and assessing surgical resident preparedness for endoscopy practice, evaluating credentialing programs for the endosuite and predicting the future of endoscopic services in Canada. The roundtable noted several important observations. There exist inadequacies in both resident training and the assessment of competency in endoscopy. From these observations, several collaborative recommendations were then stated. These included the need for a formal and standardized system of both accreditation and training endoscopists.

Types of diagnostic errors in neurological emergencies in the emergency department.

Neurological emergencies often pose diagnostic challenges for emergency physicians because these patients often present with atypical symptoms and standard imaging tests are imperfect. Misdiagnosis occurs due to a variety of errors. These can be classified as knowledge gaps, cognitive errors, and systems-based errors. The goal of this study was to describe these errors through review of quality assurance (QA) records. This was a retrospective pilot study of patients with neurological emergency diagnoses that were missed or delayed at one urban, tertiary academic emergency department. Cases meeting inclusion criteria were identified through review of QA records. Three emergency physicians independently reviewed each case and determined the type of error that led to the misdiagnosis. Proportions, confidence intervals, and a reliability coefficient were calculated. During the study period, 1168 cases were reviewed. Forty-two cases were found to include a neurological misdiagnosis and twenty-nine were determined to be the result of an error. The distribution of error types was as follows: knowledge gap 45.2% (95% CI 29.2, 62.2), cognitive error 29.0% (95% CI 15.9, 46.8), and systems-based error 25.8% (95% CI 13.5, 43.5). Cerebellar strokes were the most common type of stroke misdiagnosed, accounting for 27.3% of missed strokes. All three error types contributed to the misdiagnosis of neurological emergencies. Misdiagnosis of cerebellar lesions and erroneous radiology resident interpretations of neuroimaging were the most common mistakes. Understanding the types of errors may enable emergency physicians to develop possible solutions and avoid them in the future.

Predictors of breast radiotherapy plan modifications: Quality assurance rounds in a large cancer centre

Background and purposeThis study describes the process and outcomes of breast radiotherapy (RT) quality assurance (QA) rounds, seeking to identify variables associated with plan modifications. Materials and methodsReal-time data were prospectively collected over 2years. Descriptive statistics determined the proportion of cases requiring no (A), minor (B), or major (C) modifications, which were then subjected to univariate and multivariate analyses. ResultsA total of 2223 breast cancer QA cases were reviewed; 47 cases (2.1%) underwent a minor, and 52 cases (2.3%) required a major modification. Common changes included boost, volume, seroma, and bolus. On univariate analysis, regional nodal irradiation (RNI), tumour size, and axillary node dissection were significantly associated with major modifications. Upon multivariate analysis, the only independent predictor was RNI (OR 2.12, p=0.0075). For patients with no RNI, <2cm tumours, no axillary lymph node dissection, and no boosts (n=420); the likelihood of category C was only 1.4%. ConclusionsIt is feasible to conduct QA review for all breast cancer cases prior to commencing RT. Patients undergoing RNI had a higher likelihood of plan modifications; a group with low risk of modification was identified, which could direct future re-structuring of QA rounds.

Innovative research program on the renewal of aging water infrastructure systems

Research Article| October 20 2014 Innovative research program on the renewal of aging water infrastructure systems Ariamalar Selvakumar; Ariamalar Selvakumar 1Urban Watershed Management Branch, Water Supply and Water Resources Division, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2890 Woodbridge Avenue (MS-104), Edison, NJ 08837, USA E-mail: selvakumar.ariamalar@epa.gov Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar John C. Matthews; John C. Matthews 2Battelle, 7231 Palmetto Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Wendy Condit; Wendy Condit 3Battelle, 505 King Ave., Columbus, OH 43201, USA Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Ray Sterling Ray Sterling 4Louisiana Tech University, P.O. Box 10348, Ruston, LA 71272, USA Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-Aqua (2015) 64 (2): 117–129. https://doi.org/10.2166/aqua.2014.103 Article history Received: January 07 2014 Accepted: September 09 2014 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Cite Icon Cite Permissions Search Site Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll JournalsThis Journal Search Advanced Search Citation Ariamalar Selvakumar, John C. Matthews, Wendy Condit, Ray Sterling; Innovative research program on the renewal of aging water infrastructure systems. Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-Aqua 1 March 2015; 64 (2): 117–129. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/aqua.2014.103 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex The needs associated with the aging water infrastructure are immense and have been estimated at more than $1 trillion over the next 20 years for water and wastewater utilities. To meet this growing need, utilities require the use of innovative technologies and procedures for managing their systems. To help meet their needs, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency initiated a research program to assist utilities in the renewal of water distribution and wastewater collection systems and this paper summarizes that program. This paper addresses the state-of-the-art review of current and emerging renewal technologies available for water distribution and wastewater collection systems. This paper also discusses the results of other program components which are intended to aid in the use of the renewal methods. This included: a cured-in-place pipe retrospective study of liners in use for more than 25 years; a field demonstration program of innovative water rehabilitation methods; a review of quality assurance and quality control measures for trenchless technologies; and current decision-making models and methodologies available to support rehabilitation versus replacement decisions. decision support, pipe rehabilitation, quality assurance/quality control, trenchless technology, wastewater pipe, water pipe © IWA Publishing 2015 You do not currently have access to this content.

Mobile solution for clinical research documentation.

153 Background: As trial complexity increases, there is a growing need to facilitate rapid communication of trial data among members of the research and clinical care teams. Timeliness of investigator review and high quality data are critical to clinical trial documentation. Princess Margaret developed an electronic application that meets these needs, is integrated into a patient’s medical chart, and is accessible at the point of care on a mobile device. Methods: Focus groups were held with research staff to evaluate application and device needs. Device needs were usability, compatibility with the electronic patient record (EPR), and encryption ability, which were considered and a device was selected. Standard templates were developed for the informed consent process, clinical notes, vital signs, baseline symptoms, adverse events, and concomitant medications. Electronic source (eSource) was linked to an existing CTMS, the Clinical Research Record. eSource is accessible via the EPR, allows for electronic review and sign off by investigators, and allows data capture directly into the EPR from a mobile device. Results: A 4 month pilot was completed in December 2013 with 10 clinical research nurse coordinators (CRNCs) from 3 different treatment areas, enrolling 40 patients. The project continues to roll out and will be completely integrated by July 2014. CRNCs enter information at the point of care that is easily shared amongst research and clinical care teams; important safety information is available to all staff; investigators can sign off electronically; and data has an audit trail. Metrics collected over a two-month span demonstrate average investigator sign off is completed within 7 days, well under our established timelines of within a cycle of treatment. Conclusions: Enhancements were made within the system during the pilot to facilitate workflow as issues were identified. The system provides solutions for delayed documentation, the transfer of paper charts between team members, and investigator sign-off. This has allowed for tracking of metrics including the timeliness of documentation, review, and sign off; and quality improvements to documentation will be measured through internal quality assurance reviews.

A tribal abstraction network for SNOMED CT target hierarchies without attribute relationships.

Large and complex terminologies, such as Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine-Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT), are prone to errors and inconsistencies. Abstraction networks are compact summarizations of the content and structure of a terminology. Abstraction networks have been shown to support terminology quality assurance. In this paper, we introduce an abstraction network derivation methodology which can be applied to SNOMED CT target hierarchies whose classes are defined using only hierarchical relationships (ie, without attribute relationships) and similar description-logic-based terminologies. We introduce the tribal abstraction network (TAN), based on the notion of a tribe-a subhierarchy rooted at a child of a hierarchy root, assuming only the existence of concepts with multiple parents. The TAN summarizes a hierarchy that does not have attribute relationships using sets of concepts, called tribal units that belong to exactly the same multiple tribes. Tribal units are further divided into refined tribal units which contain closely related concepts. A quality assurance methodology that utilizes TAN summarizations is introduced. A TAN is derived for the Observable entity hierarchy of SNOMED CT, summarizing its content. A TAN-based quality assurance review of the concepts of the hierarchy is performed, and erroneous concepts are shown to appear more frequently in large refined tribal units than in small refined tribal units. Furthermore, more erroneous concepts appear in large refined tribal units of more tribes than of fewer tribes. In this paper we introduce the TAN for summarizing SNOMED CT target hierarchies. A TAN was derived for the Observable entity hierarchy of SNOMED CT. A quality assurance methodology utilizing the TAN was introduced and demonstrated.

Evaluation of anesthetic technique on surgical site infections (SSIs) at a single institution

Study ObjectiveTo determine whether the previously published relationship between anesthetic technique and rate of surgical site infections (SSIs) was influenced by institution specific effects. DesignRetrospective Review of Quality Assurance and Hospital Epidemiology databases. SettingMetropolitan medical center. MeasurementsThe records of 7,751 patients who underwent knee or hip joint replacement from 2004 to 2010 were analyzed. Data regarding anesthetic technique, age, ASA status, gender, postoperative temperature, duration of anesthesia and type of surgery were from the department of anesthesiology quality assurance database and SSI cases were identified from the department of epidemiology database. The impact of anesthetic technique and other variables was assessed using bivariate and multivariate techniques. Main ResultsThere was no association of anesthetic technique on the rate of SSI. Duration of anesthesia and ASA status were associated with effects on the rate of SSI. ConclusionsThe impact of anesthetic technique on SSI following hip and knee replacement surgery may be site specific and using locally gathered quality data may assist in assessing specific institutional impact.

A conceptual framework for improved analyses of 72-hour return cases

For more than 25 years, emergency medicine researchers have examined 72-hour return visits as a marker for high-risk patient visits and as a surrogate measure for quality of care. Individual emergency departments frequently use 72-hour returns as a screening tool to identify deficits in care, although comprehensive departmental reviews of this nature may consume considerable resources. We discuss the lack of published data supporting the use of 72-hour return frequency as an overall performance measure and examine why this is not a valid use, describe a conceptual framework for reviewing 72-hour return cases as a screening tool, and call for future studies to test various models for conducting such quality assurance reviews of patients who return to the emergency department within 72 hours.

Approaches of Quality Assurance Models on Adult Education Provisions

The present paper aims at elaborating a comparative analysis on quality assurance approaches and their impact on adult education across European Higher Education Area. As soon as Quality Assurance was recognised as one of the major concerns of Bologna Process, the concept started being reflected in national legislation, policy making at national level and quality assurance agencies provisions. At a later stage, Quality Assurance managed to substantially influence institutional priorities and focuses, no matter if external quality assurance reviews had formal and financial consequences or not. We can only speak about good quality education if also the Social Dimension is of good quality. Ensuring equal opportunities in higher education is not only a question of social justice, but also about improving and strengthening the quality of higher education, therefore quality assurance must take account of the social dimension of higher education in making certain that institutions would operate with the goal of fostering equality within the academic world and ultimately in society. Quality Assurance should strengthen its role in regularly monitor and foster the access, succession and completion rates of underrepresented groups in higher education (ESU, 2011).Since social dimension might be defined as all obstacles to access, progress and completion in higher education (with the strongest emphasis on obstacles to access), we can state that ensuring access of adult population to higher education is a matter of social dimension as it was included in Bologna Process in 2001 (Prague Communique, 2001). Countries have different cultures and financial possibilities, universities are located in a specific social environment, often serve different groups in society. Some study programmes are more open to underrepresented groups. Students have different needs; they can come from different socio-economic backgrounds, can be mobile students, students coming from rural areas, adult students, etc. The main objective of this paper is to analyse to which extent do different models of Quality Assurance processes manage to reflect the provisions and practices related to adult education and the priority that is being given to adult education in institutional practices. Some models look at the internal quality assurance system and processes, while others look at the results of these processes – the quality itself, some models look at the achievement of Intended Learning Outcomes, while others look at the vision, mission and objectives of Higher Education Institutions. With widening access agendas gaining momentum and the recognition of the importance of support structures, quality assurance mechanisms need to pay closer attention to adult education as crucial segment of social dimension in higher education.

Managing IT Projects in Public Companies: A Case Study

As part of its public sector modernization effort, a North African government has put a lot of effort and allocated significant budgets since 1997 to modernize one of its main public sector companies. Consequently, this company, that mainly offers postal services, initiated many IT-based projects to computerize all paper-based ongoing services offered through its branches and to present new products to customers. This company was aiming to improve service quality and to diversify the range of its services. However, some of these IT-based projects inevitably faced problems. Some projects were either not completed successfully, cancelled, over-budget or taking more time than scheduled. As a result, many employees and customers of this company were dissatisfied and complained about bad planning, slowness and significant disruptions in these projects, an event that affected adversely the quality of service. This study aims at determining the causes of these project disruptions, failures or delays. To achieve this aim, 30 experienced project developers and engineers working in that company’s IT department volunteered to respond to a detailed questionnaire specifically developed for this purpose. The questionnaire included questions about project vision clarity, time/cost management, project quality assurance, risk management and human resources management. Results show that the main reasons for disruptions, failure or delays in IT projects are lack of business plan and poor documentation during and after finishing projects, lack of clear quality assurance criteria, standards and reviews, and poor project risk management practices. Ramifications of such results in terms of improving IT project management practices in the public service sector are finally presented.

Canadian radiation oncologists’ opinions regarding peer review: A national survey

PurposeTo determine Canadian radiation oncologists’ (ROs) views regarding the benefits, workload implications, and legal liability of the peer review quality assurance (QA) process. Methods and materialsA 26-item anonymous survey was electronically distributed to all current practicing ROs in Canada through the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncologists membership to obtain their opinions regarding peer review. ResultsThe survey was completed by 145 (36%) of 404 ROs. Most (82%) reported their practice is moderately or very busy and more than two-thirds (69%) felt stressed by their workload. A peer review process is standard at 92% of respondents’ institutions. The majority reported this consists of weekly meetings where ROs and other health care providers convene to review radiation treatment plans; some have tumor site-specific rounds while others have 1 meeting for all sites. Nearly all (97%) found this type of QA is beneficial for review of radical plans and 71% found it is beneficial for palliative plans. Incorporating peer review into their current work schedule for all sites was deemed by 37% of respondents to be not or slightly difficult, while 40% found it moderately difficult and 22% very or extremely difficult. The majority (91%) reported that creating a work code to document QA meetings would be helpful and 69% stated that extra resources such as scheduling protected time, designating other health care providers QA coordinators, and increasing overall RO manpower are needed to implement effective peer review. Over half (52%) felt documenting QA meeting minutes would increase legal liability. ConclusionsThe majority of ROs who responded found that peer review is beneficial and participate in peer review for at least some of the tumor sites they treat. However, most stated that extra resources are required to effectively implement QA for all tumor sites in their current schedule.

Review on the Supervision Monitoring Program for Radiation Environment around Nuclear Power Plants

The supervision monitoring program of radiation environment around nuclear power plants is an important basis for the environmental radiation monitoring work. Key elements such as source, exposure pathway and representative person are discussed in the design of the supervision monitoring program, and technical details about the review of monitoring, evaluating and quality assurance are also given in this article. For the supervision monitoring work of radiation environment around nuclear power plants, it can provide some guidance about the review of the supervision monitoring program for nuclear safety regulators, and provide some reference about the design and revision of the supervision monitoring program for nuclear safety monitoring departments.

주요국의 초음파검사 시행현황과 질 확보방안

In accordance with the government's plan to expand the national health insurance (NHI) coverage for severe diseases such as cancer, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and rare and incurable disease, the diagnostic ultrasound services have been covered by NHI from October 1, 2013. The quality is very important factor in providing diagnostic services because they influence on the diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of diseases. In particular, equipments and health care providers plays an important role in providing qualitative services. The purpose of this paper is to examine the major feature of ultrasound services covered by health security system and to review quality assurance policies in other countries such as Australia, Japan, the USA, and Canada. In addition, we assessed the implication of those policies. We especially put emphasis on the types and qualifications of healthcare professionals and measures to manage equipments. All countries have reviewed on policies to promote the quality such as educational requirements of professionals or restrictions on the duration of equipment usage. Various measures should be implemented to assure the qualitative ultrasound service.

IMPROVING FAMILY THERAPY TRAINING AND PRACTICE THROUGH STUDENT REFLECTIONS

This paper documents student appraisals of a Family Therapy Practice Module and allows for students’ reflective accounts to speak for themselves. The analysis aids in informing competent practice and programme content of the module, which constantly changes in shape and form. This module, like many others in institutions of higher learning, will be subjected to a quality assurance review exercise by not only our discipline of social work but also through an institutional audit. Our institution’s quality assurance committee will review and assess this module to determine its sustainability, academic coherence and viability. Arguably this module will be scrutinised for any limitations, and possibilities will be advanced for future consideration. Moreover students’ assessment of the module is an integral and necessary step of the evaluation process. We propose that these responses will authenticate the need for its continued existence.

Mobile solution for clinical research documentation.

e17613 Background: As trial complexity increases, there is a growing need to facilitate rapid communication of trial data among members of the research and clinical care teams. Timeliness of investigator review and high quality data are critical to clinical trial documentation. Princess Margaret developed an electronic application that meets these needs, is integrated into a patient’s medical chart, and is accessible at the point of care on a mobile device. Methods: Focus groups were held with research staff to evaluate application and device needs. Device needs were usability, compatibility with the electronic patient record (EPR), and encryption ability, which were considered and a device was selected. Standard templates were developed for the informed consent process, clinical notes, vital signs, baseline symptoms, adverse events, and concomitant medications. Electronic source (eSource) was linked to an existing CTMS, the Clinical Research Record. eSource is accessible via the EPR, allows for electronic review and sign off by investigators, and allows data capture directly into the EPR from a mobile device. Results: A 4 month pilot was completed in December 2013 with 10 clinical research nurse coordinators (CRNCs) from 3 different treatment areas, enrolling 40 patients. The project continues to roll out and will be completely integrated by August 2014. CRNCs enter information at the point of care that is easily shared amongst research and clinical care teams; important safety information is available to all staff; investigators can sign off electronically; and data has an audit trail. Conclusions: Enhancements were made within the system during the pilot to facilitate workflow as issues were identified. The system provides solutions for delayed documentation, the transfer of paper charts between team members, and investigator sign-off. This has allowed for tracking of metrics including the timeliness of documentation, review, and sign off; quality improvements to documentation can be measured through internal quality assurance reviews; and opportunities for future enhancements have been created including improving trial management, reporting of trial outcomes data, and a complete electronic integration of all paper research documentation.

Improved Historical Temperature and Precipitation Time Series for U.S. Climate Divisions

AbstractThis paper describes an improved edition of the climate division dataset for the conterminous United States (i.e., version 2). The first improvement is to the input data, which now include additional station networks, quality assurance reviews, and temperature bias adjustments. The second improvement is to the suite of climatic elements, which now includes both maximum and minimum temperatures. The third improvement is to the computational approach, which now employs climatologically aided interpolation to address topographic and network variability. Version 2 exhibits substantial differences from version 1 over the period 1895–2012. For example, divisional averages in version 2 tend to be cooler and wetter, particularly in mountainous areas of the western United States. Division-level trends in temperature and precipitation display greater spatial consistency in version 2. National-scale temperature trends in version 2 are comparable to those in the U.S. Historical Climatology Network whereas version 1 exhibits less warming as a result of historical changes in observing practices. Divisional errors in version 2 are likely less than 0.5°C for temperature and 20 mm for precipitation at the start of the record, falling rapidly thereafter. Overall, these results indicate that version 2 can supersede version 1 in both operational climate monitoring and applied climatic research.

A Tiered Quality Assurance Review Process for Clinical Data Management Standard Operating Procedures in an Academic Health Center

Standard operating procedures (SOPs) were once considered the province of the pharmaceutical industry but are now viewed as a key component of quality assurance programs. To address variability and increase the rigor of clinical data management (CDM) operations, the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) decided to create CDM SOPs. In response to this challenge, and as part of a broader institutional initiative, the CCHMC leadership established an executive steering committee to oversee the development and implementation of CDM SOPs. This resulted in the creation of a quality assurance review process with three review panels: an SOP development team (16 clinical data managers and technical staff members), a faculty review panel (8 senior faculty and administrators), and an expert advisory panel (3 national CDM experts). This innovative, tiered review process helped ensure that the new SOPs would be created and implemented in accord with good CDM practices and standards. Twelve fully vetted, institutionally endorsed SOPs and one CDM template resulted from the intensive, iterative 10-month process (December 2011 to early October 2012). Phased implementation, which incoporated the CDM SOPs into the existing audit process for certain types of clinical research studies, was on schedule at the time of this writing. Once CCHMC researchers have had the opportunity to use the SOPs over time and across a broad range of research settings and conditions, the SOPs will be revisited and revalidated.

Critères de qualité en oncologie médicale pour la prise en charge des cancers de la tête et du cou

In medical oncology, how can we be sure that the right drug is being administered to the right patient at the right time? The implementation of quality assurance criteria is important in medical oncology, in order to ensure that the patient receives the best treatment safely. There is very little literature about quality assurance in medical oncology, as opposed to radiotherapy or cancer surgery. Quality assurance must cover the entire patient care process, from the diagnosis, to the therapeutic decision and drug distribution, including its selection, its preparation and its delivery to the patient (administration and dosage), and finally the potential side effects and their management. The dose-intensity respect is crucial, and its reduction can negatively affect overall survival rates, as shown in breast and testis cancers for example. In head and neck medical oncology, it is essential to respect the few well-standardized recommendations and the dose-intensity, in a population with numerous comorbidities. We will first review quality assurance criteria for the general medical oncology organization and then focus on head and neck medical oncology. We will then describe administration specificities of head and neck treatments (chemoradiation, radiation plus cetuximab, postoperative chemoradiation, induction and palliative chemotherapy) as well as their follow-up. Lastly, we will offer some recommendations to improve quality assurance in head and neck medical oncology.

The diagnostic impact of limited, screening obstetric ultrasound when performed by midwives in rural Uganda

To evaluate the diagnostic impact of limited obstetric ultrasound (US) in identifying high-risk pregnancies when used as a screening tool by midwives in rural Uganda. This was an institutional review board-approved prospective study of expecting mothers in rural Uganda who underwent clinical and US exams as part of their standard antenatal care visit in a local health center in the Isingiro district of Uganda. The midwives documented clinical impressions before performing a limited obstetric US on the same patient. The clinical findings were then compared with the subsequent US findings to determine the diagnostic impact. The midwives were US-naive before participating in the 6-week training course for limited obstetric US. Midwife-performed screening obstetric US altered the clinical diagnosis in up to 12% clinical encounters. This diagnostic impact is less (6.7 to 7.4%) if the early third trimester diagnosis of malpresentation is excluded. The quality assurance review of midwives' imaging demonstrated 100% sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosing gestational number, and 90% sensitivity and 96% specificity in the diagnosis of fetal presentation. Limited, screening obstetric US performed by midwives with focused, obstetric US training demonstrates the diagnostic impact for identifying conditions associated with high-risk pregnancies in 6.7 to 12% of patients screened. The limited obstetric US improved diagnosis of early pregnancy complication as well as later gestation twins and malpresentation. Midwives who have undergone focused 6-week limited obstetric US training proved capable of diagnosing twins and fetal presentation with high sensitivity and specificity.

Modern Analytical Facilities 2. A Review of Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) Procedures for Lithogeochemical Data

Quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) are critical components of modern analytical geochemistry. A properly constructed QA/QC program identifies both the source of analytical error and provides a means of establishing confidence in and assessing limitations of analytical data. A QA/QC program involves monitoring precision, accuracy, and potential contamination from sampling to analysis. Precision can be monitored via the systematic insertion of sample, pulp, and analytical duplicates, and reference materials; the resulting data are subsequently evaluated using scatterplots, statistical tests (e.g. % relative standard deviation), Thompson-Howarth plots, and the average coefficient of variation (CVavg (%)). Accuracy is determined through the submission of reference materials and monitored using statistical tests (e.g. % relative difference, t-test) and Shewart control charts. Blanks test contamination and results are monitored using Shewart control charts.SOMMAIREL'assurance de la qualité et le contrôle de la qualité (AQ-CQ) sont deux composantes essentielles à la géochimie analytique moderne. Un programme AQ-CQ bien conçu défini à la fois la source de l'erreur d'analyse et un moyen d'établir la confiance et d’évaluer les limites des données analytiques. Un programme AQ-CQ comprend le contrôle de la précision, de l'exactitude et de la contamination potentielle, de l'étape d’échantillonnage à l'analyse. La précision peut être contrôlée via l'insertion systématique d'échantillon, de pulpes, et de doublons d'analyse, et de matériaux de référence; les données obtenues sont ensuite évaluées en utilisant des diagrammes de dispersion, des tests statistiques (pourcentage d’écart type relatif, par ex.), des courbes de Thompson-Howarth, et des coefficients de variation moyens (CVm %). La précision est déterminée par la soumission de documents de référence et de contrôle par des tests statistiques (différence relative en %, t-test, par ex.) et des graphiques de contrôle de Shewhart. La contamination d’essais à blanc et les résultats sont contrôlés par des graphiques de contrôle Shewhart.