A trend analysis of quality indicators of patient safety in the clinical laboratory over 21 months

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the quality indicators covering the critical steps in the pre- and postanalytical phases and to study their trends over a 21-month period in the laboratory. Methods: A prospective analysis of results obtained from our clinical chemistry and haematology laboratories, which function independently, for errors in the pre- and postanalytical phases was carried out to observe the trend for all the errors after the implementation of 3 patient-safety strategies. Results: A significant improvement was observed in completeness of test requisition forms (TRFs) received in the laboratory after staff training. Incidence of sample rejection decreased dramatically after the implementation of a second patient-safety activity; it dropped further after the introduction of evacuated tubes. Almost 100% improvement was observed in critical and urgent reporting. Conclusion: Use of quality indicators to assess and monitor clinical-laboratory processes is an extremely valuable tool in maintaining quality control in a systematic and transparent way. © 2012 by The American Society for Clinical Pathology.