QMS Helps Ontario Labs Cut Errors, Improve TAT

By Joseph Burns | From the Volume XIX No. 4 – March 12, 2012 Issue

CEO SUMMARY: In Brampton and Etobicoke, Ontario, the hospital laboratories of William Osler Health System are using the quality management system of ISO 15189 to stay ahead of two powerful trends. Combining the QMS with Lean methods allows the labs’ management and staff to continuously …

Read More

---

ISO 15189 Accreditation Requires Specific Steps For Global Recognition

By Robert Michel | From the Volume XVII No. 6 – April 19, 2010 Issue

CEO SUMMARY: This intelligence briefing is the third in an ongoing series about quality management systems (QMS) and their role in advancing the performance of clinical laboratories and improving the quality of the testing services they provide. ISO 15189 is a set of standards for medical…

Read More

---

Quest’s Deficiencies Trigger QA/QC Questions

By Robert Michel

CEO SUMMARY: Experts in laboratory QA/QC and proficiency testing (PT) are following the news that Quest Diagnostics admitted to an 18-month problem with lab test accuracy in its home brew Vitamin 25(OH) D assay. It is recognized as a major failure in the existing system of labora…

Read More

---

2008’s Top Ten Lab Stories Lacked Disruptive Impact

By Robert Michel | From the Volume XV No. 16 – December 01, 2008 Issue

CEO SUMMARY: For the first time in recent memory, a year has passed without major tumult or disruptive change in the laboratory industry. Our list of the Top Ten Most Important Stories of 2008 reflects a rather quiet year when compared to most years of this decade. Howeve…

Read More

---

Piedmont Med Lab Mixes ISO with Lean & Six Sigma

By Robert Michel | From the Volume XV No. 12 – September 8, 2008 Issue

CEO SUMMARY: Piedmont Medical Laboratory (PML) could be the only clinical laboratory ever to pursue three quality improvement initiatives simultaneously. Even as it was in the early stages of implementing both Lean and Six Sigma methods, PML also decided to seek ISO 15189:2007 accreditati…

Read More

---

ISO 15189 Work Advances at Meeting in Vancouver

By Robert Michel | From the Volume XV No. 8 – June 16, 2008 Issue

CEO SUMMARY: Laboring quietly out of the public eye, an international work team of professionals, including representatives from the CDC, the FDA, and global in vitro diagnostics (IVD) manufacturers, has spent the past 14 years developing an important series of quality and safety standard…

Read More

---

Busy Year Demonstrated By Top Ten Lab Stories

By Robert Michel | From the Volume XIV No. 17 – December 10, 2007 Issue

CEO SUMMARY: As it turns out, 2007 has been an action-packed year with lots of events, plenty of changes, and the promise of even faster evolution across all sectors of the lab testing marketplace. THE D…

Read More

---

More Labs Actively Adopt Quality Management

By Robert Michel | From the Volume XIV No. 14 – October 8, 2007 Issue

CEO SUMMARY: With almost 300 speakers, attendees, and vendors in attendance from seven countries, Lab Quality Confab was a significant milestone for the global lab industry. On one level, it was a sign that the quality improvement trend has come of age. On another level, it provided ample…

Read More

---

Lean/Six Sigma in Labs Becomes More Common

By Robert Michel | From the Volume XIV No. 10 – July 16, 2007 Issue

CEO SUMMARY: Across healthcare, laboratories, hospitals, and health systems are leading the drive to incorporate quality management methods into clinical services and daily operations. This fall, in Atlanta, the Lab Quality Confab will provide a detailed look at this trend, with 50 speake…

Read More

---

Key Trends Drive Change for Clinical Laboratories

By Robert Michel | From the Volume XIV No. 1 – January 8, 2007 Issue

CEO SUMMARY: Technology plays an ever-growing role in reshaping the organization and operation of clinical laboratories. New technologies figure prominently in THE DARK REPORT’S 2007 list of key trends in the clinical laboratory industry. Technological advances in instr…

Read More

---