How To Improve Quality Control When Offering Clinical Laboratory Services

Operating a clinical laboratory is not something you should take lightly. Patients look to your facility for important medical testing, sometimes on a consistent basis. Quality control is an important part of keeping your clinical lab operating smoothly, which you'll be able to improve upon thanks to these measures.

Utilize External Controls 

Your clinical laboratory will probably have internal controls in place to check for potential issues with testing procedures. In addition to these controls, you want to use external controls by working with an independent company. You need someone from the outside to look at your lab's testing procedures in an unbiased manner.

They're just there to recommend adjustments if they're needed, whether it's how you collect patient data or how testing equipment is handled. These outside controls ultimately can improve internal controls, saving your clinical laboratory a lot of costly issues over the years.

Automate Processes to Reduce Human Error

Human error could show up in a clinical laboratory setting and subsequently result in loss and negative patient outcomes. That's why you want to reduce its probability of occurring at all costs, and you can achieve this feat simply by using automated controls.

When machinery and software are used to automate lab tasks, mistakes won't be as frequent because these resources work within structured parameters that you'll be able to adjust and monitor continually. For instance, your laboratory can invest in automatic calibration systems that prime your equipment and resources in a convenient way. 

Continue Training Staff

Even if you do automate a lot of processes in your clinical laboratory setting, there still will be human involvement. You can ensure it's refined each time labs are performed for patients by continuing to train your staff.

Training is an amazing resource that can get your laboratory staff caught up with the latest testing policies and procedures. Your staff thus never has to get left behind with how they work with lab equipment and test samples. Additionally, regular training will help them perform their assigned duties more effectively since they won't become content with the skills they possess. It will be continuous development with fewer laboratory issues.

Running a well-functioning clinical laboratory involves some important actions and decisions, but you'll manage them just fine if you take the right approach with quality control measures. If you get them dialed in just right, your lab will make fewer mistakes and subsequently save more money over the years. Contact a laboratory service near you to learn more.