Accreditation for Medical Laboratories – The Road Towards Quality and Competence
(12 October 2016)
The Council and the Hong Kong Accreditation Service co-organised the Seminar on Accreditation for Medical Laboratories – The Road Towards Quality and Competence. (Flyer)
Medical laboratories provide essential support to the medical sector. Accurate and reliable laboratory services are crucial for proper clinical diagnosis and treatment. Accreditation provides formal third-party recognition to competent medical laboratories. The accredited medical laboratories are rigorously assessed against international standards in carrying out laboratory testing, thus assuring the standard of operation and quality of report.
Today, accreditation is highly regarded internationally as an indicator of quality assurance and technical competence. There is a growing trend in the world to require accreditation for medical laboratories. In some places, accreditation becomes conditional for payments and reimbursement of expenses for health care insurance. The conduct of clinical trial studies in most countries also only accepts data from accredited laboratories. To be in line with the standards of other advanced countries, it is important for medical laboratories in Hong Kong to obtain formal recognition of their testing competence and standard through laboratory accreditation. The seminar was organised to introduce the medical testing accreditation, share the experience of obtaining accreditation and the benefits of it, and encourage medical laboratories to further enhance their professionalism through laboratory accreditation.
Topics of the seminar include:
- The Progress of the HKAS Medical Accreditation Programme (Presentation)
- Benefits of Accreditation to the Community
- Value of Laboratory Accreditation on Top of Hospital Accreditation (Presentation)
- Culture in Laboratory : A Change After Accreditation (Presentation)
- How Accreditation Helps in Business, from a Commercial Laboratory's View