Journal of Audiology & Otology

Special Article: Korean J Audiol. 2009;13(2):87-90.; The Quality Improvement System of the Korean Association of Quality Assurance for Clinical Laboratories; Yeo Min Yun¹, Jin Q. Kim²; ¹Department of Laboratory Medicine, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Seoul
²Department of Laboratory Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Abstract: In Korea, the National External Quality Assurance Scheme (NEQAS) has been conducted by the Korean Association of Quality Assurance for Clinical Laboratories (KAQACL) over its history of 33 years. The KAQACL is a non-profit, government authorized organization. In 2009, about 930 laboratories from throughout the country participated in this surveillance and 117 items were evaluated. The ten programs are clinical chemistry, diagnostic hematology, diagnostic immunology, clinical microbiology, urinalysis, blood bank, immunoassay, therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM), inborn error of metabolism, and diagnostic genetics. Programs are centrally regulated but carried out independently by 10 subcommittees. A subcommittee's chair and members are leading professionals of each subspecialty, mostly clinical pathologists. The KAQACL has two annual meetings: one in February and the other in autumn. In addition, each subcommittee has its own educational meetings such as workshops or lectures. An official biannual journal, "Clinical Pathology and Quality Control," has been published since 1979. Another sister publication, "Newsletters from the Korean Association of Quality Assurance for Clinical Laboratories," has been issued since 1992, four times a year. Improvement in interlaboratory differences has been observed for most items in the NEQAS in recent decades. The participants who achieved good performance (less than a 100 variance index score) in clinical chemistry tests have gradually increased in number up to 92.8 of all participants. 

Keywords :National External Quality Assurance Scheme;Korean Association of Quality Assurance for Clinical Laboratory;Laboratory medicine;Quality assurance;Proficiency test;External quality control;Accuracy.