External quality assurance schemes: a local perspective.

Abstract

Medical laboratories in Singapore subscribe to External Quality Assurance Schemes run by the Licensing and Accreditation Unit of the Ministry of Health, Singapore, as well as a number of foreign medical laboratory quality assurance institutions. Through these organisations, a comprehensive range of laboratory tests are externally monitored for quality assurance at regular intervals in all medical laboratories. In recent years, an increasing number of local quality assurance schemes have been implemented, and an increasing number of laboratories have gained accreditation by foreign quality assurance institutions. The respective roles of these quality assurance activities are discussed.