CLSI to Host Workshops in Houston and Boston on How to Implement EP23

Wayne, Pennsylvania, USA-August 2012-Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) is set to host a workshop based on CLSI document EP23-Laboratory Quality Control Based on Risk Management; Approved Guideline. The workshop will be held on September 29, 2012 from 8:30 AM-4:00 PM Central (US) Time at the Hyatt North Houston, Houston, Texas, USA and again on November 3, 2012 from 8:30 AM-4:00 PM Eastern (US) Time at the Hilton Boston Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

EP23 delivers guidance and examples to ensure optimal quality control (QC) within laboratories-from checking refrigerator temperatures to conducting proficiency testing and training. These workshops will demonstrate methods to best apply the EP23 document and its companion products to ensure “the right QC” in any laboratory.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) enforce the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, which ensure quality in all laboratory testing performed on humans in the United States. The publication of EP23 has prompted CMS to recognize its QC concepts and they will be eliminating the original equivalent QC options. This workshop will allow participants to determine the best QC tools to create a custom QC plan (QCP) for each test and help them develop a QCP that will reduce the risk of error and help ensure good patient test results. Other focuses of the workshop will include using risk assessment, the use of popular risk assessment tools, and how to implement the quality features that the manufacturer has created to ensure correct test results.

Speakers at the workshop will include James H. Nichols, PhD, DABCC, FACB, Medical Director, Clinical Chemistry, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA; Ann E. Snyder, MT(ASCP), Medical Technologist, and Sarah F. Bennett, MT(ASCP), Medical Technologist, both from CMS in Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Luann Ochs, MS, Senior Vice President – Operations, CLSI; and Marcy Anderson, MS, MT(ASCP), Director of Education, CLSI.

The first of these experts is Dr. Nichols, the Chairholder of the EP23 document development committee, whose perspective is invaluable to those learning to implement the document and its QC tools. “EP23 provides guidance for laboratories to better understand the weaknesses in their testing process and be proactive in developing strategies to detect and prevent errors before they reach the patient,” Dr. Nichols explains. “By following EP23, laboratories will learn to assess their risks and create individualized control plans for their instrumentation and medical application of the test result in their setting, finding the right balance of manufacturer-engineered and liquid quality control processes.”

This workshop is planned for clinical and laboratory professionals of all levels, related health care professionals, manufacturers and representatives from regulatory and accrediting organizations, and educators and students in clinical laboratory sciences. Online registration is now available at www.clsi.org. Participants will be awarded five contact hours of continuing education credits.

CLSI is a volunteer-driven, membership-supported, nonprofit organization dedicated to developing standards and guidelines for the health care and medical testing community through a consensus process that balances the perspectives of industry, government, and the health care professions. For additional information, visit the CLSI website at www.clsi.org or call 610.688.0100.