Quality and competence in laboratory services

Location: Africa, Asia, and Latin America

Poor quality of laboratory services and inaccurate results can lead to inappropriate action, inaction or incorrect diagnosis and treatment. In 2011, FHI 360 assisted six government hospital laboratories in earning International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 15189 accreditation for quality and competence in medical laboratories. Through a program managed by FHI 360, the first public laboratories in Bangladesh and Indonesia, as well as an additional four laboratories in Vietnam, now meet these standards. With these accreditations, the laboratories are ensuring accurate results when testing for diseases, producing timely results, respecting ethics and protecting the safety of patients and clinical staff alike. In addition, we trained more than 750 medical and laboratory technologists in Africa, Asia and Latin America on topics including ISO 15189, infection control, malaria microscopy, quality management systems and objective measurement.