Laboratory quality strengthening

The ISO 15189 standard specifies requirements for quality and competence particular to medical laboratories. ISO 15189 is for use by medical laboratories in developing their quality management systems and assessing their own competence, and for use by accreditation bodies in confirming or recognising the competence of medical laboratories (source: ISO).

Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) is a quality system concerned with the organisational process and the conditions under which non-clinical health and environmental safety studies are planned, performed, monitored, recorded, archived and reported (Source: OECD).

Laboratory accreditation provides formal recognition to competent laboratories, thus providing a ready means to identify and select reliable testing, measurement and calibration services. To maintain this recognition, laboratories are re-evaluated regularly by the accreditation body to ensure their continued compliance with requirements, and to check that their standard of operation is being maintained (source: ILAC).

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight goals to be achieved by 2015 that respond to the world's main development challenges. The MDGs are drawn from the actions and targets contained in the Millennium Declaration that was adopted by 189 nations-and signed by 147 heads of state and governments during the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000 (source: UNDP).

A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is a set of written instructions that document a routine or repetitive activity followed by an organization. The development and use of SOPs are an integral part of a successful quality system as it provides individuals with the information to perform a job properly, and facilitates consistency in the quality and integrity of a product or end-result (source: EPA).