SOP – Malaria Microscopy - NVBDCP

Quality Assurance of Malaria Diagnostic tests2.1.2.3 Procedure• Identification of the members of the QA teamIt includes the laboratory staff, staff in the health facility whose work requiresinteraction with the laboratory e.g. Medical Officers, paramedical staff and communityvolunteers, who transfer specimens and results. There should be representation frommanagement, who have the responsibility for the efficient and effective working of thelaboratory and also for ensuring that the laboratory services meets the wider needsof the end users.• Setting standards and targetsSimple quality indicators (QI) should be defined for monitoring by competent authoritywhether the standards laid are being met or not. In addition to Internal Quality Control(IQC) standards, laboratories should participate in External Quality AssessmentSchemes (EQAS), referring batches of specimens for cross checking and comparingresults obtained with designated Reference Laboratories of the medical colleges.• Selecting the priority issues for quality monitoring and improvementi. Seeking views of the competent authority and/or quality assurance team of thereferral laboratories,ii. Collecting data on the quality indicators for laboratory functioning and theirremedial actions are necessary to improve the service.• Analysing the problems for qualityOnce the issues pertaining to quality in the laboratory service have beenthe QA team should engage in analysis of the problems such as:identified,i. What are the factors contributing to the problems?ii. At which stage in the process are interventions available for solving theproblem (s) that lead to poor quality?iii. Who are the personnel involved?iv. How feasible it is to make changes to overcome the problems?• Developing solutions to the problemsFor resolution of problems that arise from time to time, meetings/brainstormingsessions involving all team members should be held to ensure improvement inquality. Once a particular solution has been arrived at, a clear plan should be drawnup that identifies the action required to implement the chosen solution and delegatingresponsibility to designated personnel for carrying out those corrective actions.Further, the “Action Plan” should indicate a timetable to implement and clearly set outa monitoring process which would ensure that the remedial actions are beingimplemented.As a rule, no change or deviation in the implementation of SOPs are permittedand it is necessary to ensure that all activities are carried out in accordancewith the procedures laid out in the SOPs.SOP – Malaria Microscopy© Copyright to Dte. NVBDCP Only. Any modification are prohibited