Quality control and monitoring schemes

Providing a quality service demands checks, controls and established procedures. To assure customers and management that these are being done requires records, documents and audits, leading inevitably (and unfortunately) to increased administration and paperwork. However, these measures should not be viewed in a negative way. Their adoption can have significant benefits for the efficiency of an organisation. This article discusses quality control within the laboratory and looks at the various quality monitoring schemes and their relevance to the veterinary practice and laboratory.