LAB: QUALITY CONTROL

• QUALITY CONTROL in the medical laboratory is a statistical

  process used to monitor and evaluate the analytical

  process that produces patient results.
• When a diagnostic test is performed in the medical

  laboratory, the outcome of the test is a result.
• The result may be a patient result or it may be a quality control (QC) result. The result may be quantitative (a number) or qualitative (positive or negative) or semi-quantitative
• Standard deviation is a statistic that quantifies how close

  numerical values are in relation to each other.
• Standard Deviation It provides the laboratory an estimate of test consistency at specific concentrations.
• The term precision is often used interchangeably with standard deviation. Another term, imprecision, is used to express how far apart numerical values are from each other.
• The mean (or average) is the laboratory’s best estimate of

  the analyte’s true value for a specific level of control
• Normal Control =:3.7 to 4.3 mmol/l
• Abnormal Control: 6.7 to 7.3 mmol/l