Accreditation

GAO issues report on disaster preparedness

Accreditation Connection, August 14, 2006

The JCAHO did not approve any new National Patient Safety Goals for accredited laboratories to comply with in 2007. The reason, according to Rick Croteau, MD, JCAHO executive director for patient safety initiatives, is to allow labs to continue focusing on the existing goals.

In the third issue of Lab Focus, a free electronic newsletter released on August 11, Croteau provides these tips for labs to maintain compliance with the Goals:

  • Don't make things more complicated than they need to be.
  • Don't overburden yourself with excessive documentation.
  • Invite the people involved in the process to participate in its planning and design.
  • Integrate the new process into existing work flow.
  • Provide frequent feedback to the participants on how the process is working, especially how many potential errors are averted.

    In other lab news, a field review closes September 4 for proposed standards for molecular testing. The standards address quality control, validation testing, specimen contamination, and reporting

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