Posted by Sten Westgard, MS
As we near the annual AACC/ASCLS convention, it's time for our annual contest to rear its ugly head again: The "Westgard Wear" Raffle:
Our yearly tradition is to offer visitors to our booth a chance to win a piece of "Westgard Wear":
See more details after the jump...
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Posted by Sten Westgard, MS
I just wanted to share some pictures of a trip taken back in late April.
The Asian Society of Continuing Medical Education was kind enough to invite me to present in a workshop titled "Assuring Quality, Standardization, and Efficiency in the Laboratory 2012" In Delhi and Mumbai.
Group picture, Mumbai
More pictures, after the jump.
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Posted by Sten Westgard, MS
Here's a range of statistics describing the performance of a glucose method. Try to pick: Which one has acceptable performance?
method with combined uncertainty 3.69%
method with combined uncertainty 6.79%
method with expanded uncertainty 7.38%
method with expanded uncertainty 13.58%
method with 3.78 Sigma
Which method would you pick?
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Posted by Sten Westgard, MS
Recently, the journal In Vitro Diagnostics Global News a publication of CGI KK and in association with CAP Today, has begun publishing a series of translations of Westgard articles into Japanese:
The title of the series is Think QC Again, an important message regardless of language or country.
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Posted by Sten Westgard, MS
As we wait for more details about EP23 and how CMS and CLIA will actually enforce the implementation of Risk QC, the latest morsels to emerge are quite tantalizing.
On the CLSI website, a Q&A has been posted. Here is one interesting bit:
"3. Is there a planned format for documenting the EP23 QCP to present to surveyors? There is no specific format that is required for the presentation of a QCP. The example in EP23 and those currently being drafted for future education will present some options, but laboratory directors have flexibility in the formatting of their QCPs. There may be some elements, components, or data that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will look for when assessing compliance, but nothing standard."
This is an interesting question and an even more intriguing answer. The new standard will have "nothing standard" about its implementation. Presumably labs that use the workbooks sold by CLSI will be able to fulfill any requirements for proper design of Individual QC Plans.
So why won't there be a standard QC Plan format?
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