Behind the scenes of EQA - characteristics, capabilities, benefits and assets of external quality assessment (EQA)
Buchta, Christoph Marrington, Rachel De la Salle, Barbara Albarède, Stéphanie Albe, Xavier Badrick, Tony Berghäll, Heidi Bullock, David Cobbaert, Christa M Coucke, Wim
Buchta, Christoph
Marrington, Rachel
De la Salle, Barbara
Albarède, Stéphanie
Albe, Xavier
Badrick, Tony
Berghäll, Heidi
Bullock, David
Cobbaert, Christa M
Coucke, Wim
Abstract
Providers of external quality assessment (EQA) programs evaluate data or information obtained and reported by participant laboratories using their routine procedures to examine properties or measurands in samples provided for this purpose. EQA samples must offer participants an equal chance to obtain accurate results, while being designed to provide results in clinically relevant ranges. It is the responsibility of the EQA provider to meet the necessary requirements for homogeneity, stability and some other properties of the EQA items in order to offer participants a fair, reliable and technically interesting EQA experience. Thus, the samples are at the heart and in the centre of EQA and its success depends on their quality. This manuscript describes the requirements for EQA samples and the activities of EQA providers to achieve them.
MIDER Authors
Date
2025-01-06
Type
Article
Subject
Health services. Management, Public health. Health statistics. Occupational health. Health education
Collections
Citation
Buchta C, Marrington R, De la Salle B, Albarède S, Albe X, Badrick T, Berghäll H, Bullock D, Cobbaert CM, Coucke W, Delatour V, Geilenkeuser WJ, Griesmacher A, Henriksen GM, Huggett JF, Juhos I, Kammel M, Luppa PB, Meijer P, Pelanti J, Pezzati P, Sandberg S, Spannagl M, Thelen M, Thomas A, Zeichhardt H, Restelli V, Perrone LA. Behind the scenes of EQA - characteristics, capabilities, benefits and assets of external quality assessment (EQA). Clin Chem Lab Med. 2025 Jan 6;63(5):868-878. doi: 10.1515/cclm-2024-1291.
Journal / Source Title
Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine
DOI
10.1515/cclm-2024-1291
PMID
39753204
Publisher
Walter De Gruyter
Publisher’s URL
https://www.degruyterbrill.com/journal/key/cclm/html