Proficiency Test Feedback Utilization at Government Hospitals Laboratory, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Proficiency testing (PT) is the most commonly employed type of External Quality Assurance (EQA) and a tool to measure laboratory performance. Participating in PT is crucial for clinical laboratories that will help the participating laboratory to reduce errors, produce accurate patient test results and most importantly improve patient care by taking corrective action accordingly. The aim of this study is to assess the utilization of PT result in their laboratory Service and Identify challenges related to its utilization effectiveness.

Performances and determinants of proficiency testing in clinical laboratory services at comprehensive specialized hospitals, northwest Ethiopia

“…This might be due to low participation, PT samples not being performed because of reagent unavailability and/or equipment failure, not using appropriate units of measurement for the PT result report, or a lack of corrective actions taken for PT nonconformances. However, these findings are lower than those of a study conducted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 18 , in which the failure rate was 63.2%. The variations in the number of study years and laboratory test parameters included in this study might be possible reasons for the differences.…”

Performance of International External Quality Assessment Scheme Participant Laboratories in Ethiopia (2016-2018)

“…In this study the average PT performance the 6 PT events for 28 PT programs was 67.75% success rate even though significant improvement is not observed through the trend of PT event which among participated facilities those graded as ACC or UNACC which account 97507 (79.9%) among the total PT challenges distributed and the success rate or the rate of scoring ACC were 66.00%, 67.61%, 67.22%, 67.35%, 67.48% and 70.87% which showed relatively good performance compared to the study conducted among 12 government hospitals laboratories in Addis Ababa, who had been participated in proficiency tasting schemes for 20 clinical laboratories test parameters in 6 cycles from 2012 to 2013 G. C. in over 6 cycle showed that those meet the analytical performance score of 80 and above is 40.42%, 26.67%, 26.67%, 51.67%, 37.09%, 38.37% this indicates no improvement in quality through time [9]. This study was comparable with the study conducted in Nigeria between 2009 and 2011 [7].…”

Navigating Quality Assessment Hurdles in Clinical Laboratory Services: A Comprehensive Review in Resource-Limited Settings

“…This is because of outdated infrastructure, poor development and application of quality management systems, and insufficient involvement in EQA programs. 27 Participation in the EQA program in resource-limited countries faced different challenges, including sample commutability and assigned target values; transportation and shipment; expenses from the EQA program; equipment and reagent supplies; awareness and motivation of laboratory professionals; and utilization of feedback, which has a direct impact on the implementation of the EQA.…”

“… 11 However, the major challenge for the implementation of an EQA program is that most employees lack knowledge and expertise, and they do not fully understand the objective of PT, which leads to a failure to identify gaps based on EQA feedback. 15 , 27 …”

“…11 However, the major challenge for the implementation of an EQA program is that most employees lack knowledge and expertise, and they do not fully understand the objective of PT, which leads to a failure to identify gaps based on EQA feedback. 15,27 The challenges affecting the implementation of EQA include institutional factors, such as a lack of adequate facilities, a scarcity of qualified workers, and a lack of laboratory policies, strategic plans, and integrated national quality management systems. 59,60 Although the aforementioned issues are obstacles to the efficient use of PT, no regulatory bodies or national central laboratories are responsive to these problems, possibly because regulatory bodies are not under scrutiny of the low performance of the laboratory.…”