The Institute for Quality Management in Healthcare (IQMH), an affiliate of Health Standards Organization (HSO), provides proficiency testing (PT) to medical laboratories. PT is a critical component of a laboratory’s quality management system as it offers independent assurance that testing processes consistently produce accurate, reliable and clinically safe results for patients. It evaluates participant performance through interlaboratory comparisons, allowing laboratories to assess their results against peer performance and assigned values.
In-Common Laboratories (ICL) is proud to support IQMH as its service delivery partner by preparing and securely shipping PT materials to laboratories across Canada. In the IQMH PT program, participating laboratories receive samples with undisclosed content – referred to as survey samples – and test them using their routine methods. After testing is complete, laboratories submit their results to IQMH, which evaluates performance using survey-specific assessment rules that may vary by discipline. The PT surveys cover a broad range of laboratory testing areas, from routine blood work to more specialized and complex laboratory tests.
To support IQMH, ICL manages the receipt, preparation, labelling, packaging, and timely distribution of PT materials. ICL’s detailed procedures and multiple quality checks help maintain the reliable distribution of the tens of thousands of samples sent each year to support laboratory quality monitoring and improvement.
Demand for Canadian-based PT continues to grow. ICL’s expertise and attention to detail play a key role in supporting the expansion of IQMH’s PT program and strengthening confidence in laboratory testing across the country.