Quality in the Medical Laboratory, with a focus on blood coagulation
We have chosen to publish an issue specifically focusing on quality issues. Therefore Special Issue 6 has the theme “Quality in the Medical Laboratory, with a focus on blood coagulation”.
The Issue starts with an introduction explaining why quality matters by Dr. P. Meijer of the ECAT Foundation.
The first section focuses on pre-analytical aspects. Subjects described are the relevance of a proper sample and quality indicators for the pre-analytical phase.
The second part, with a focus on analytical aspects, provides articles regarding method and equipment validation, reference values, internal quality control, external quality control, value assignment quality control samples, analytical performance specifications and an overview of analytical performance specifications for blood coagulation. The issue ends with the post-analytical phase, with contributions on risk management for laboratory testing and the relevance of accreditation.