What's New: March 2015

Posted by Sten Westgard, MS

Here's what's new on Westgard Web:

Is your lab Empowered?

In January, we were fortunate to have a guest essay by one of the organizers of the EQA monitor program, Empower IVD Globe. A forthcoming editorial in CCLM will soon endorse this program. As this project reaches a critical juncture, we review the reasons why labs need better EQA.

Is your lab empowered, or enfeebled, by its EQA?

 

Sigma-metric analysis of two blood gas instruments

It's been a while since we've looked at the Sigma-metrics of any blood gas instruments. There's an interesting study recently published comparing two blood gas instruments to a core laboratory autoanalyzer. When you know the blood gas results are going to be compared to the core lab results, the bias may not be quite as traceable, but it's certainly relevant.

Nova CCX, RapidLab 1265, AU 2700, what's got the better performance?
 

Sigma-metrics of a chemistry instrument in Ghana

A 2014 article in the Nigerian Medical Journal assessed the Sigma-metrics of a chemistry analyzer. The results raise serious questions.
When is method performance a problem of logistics and not a problem of the lab? And when does performance preclude accreditation?