Tools, Technologies and Training for Healthcare Laboratories

AACC Expert Access Questions & Answers - Six Sigma

On March 5th, 2002, Dr. Westgard was the guest at the AACC's Expert Access Online. The topic was Six Sigma.

Quintiles and Quality: QC for hs-CRP

There have been several questions recently about how to set a quality requirement, specifically a precision requirement, for the high sensitivity C-reactive protein test (hs-CRP). There certainly is a lot of interest and demand for hs-CRP these days because of published studies that show a correlation of elevated baseline values with a higher risk of future cardiovascular events. Cardiologists are clamoring for the test because of the discussions in the scientific literature and professional meetings.

Ten Ways to do the Wrong QC Wrong

Think you're the only one who doesn't do QC perfectly? You're not alone. In this article, we look at numerous examples from readers, where the best intentions have gone astray. By seeing how QC practices go wrong in the real world, we can learn what we need to do better.