Quality of Medical Laboratories: Proficiency test for laboratories: Chemistry

The Laboratory Quality Department (Sciensano) was created in 1978 by the publication of the first approval order for clinical biology laboratories. Until 1988, the department was solely responsible for the approval of laboratories with regard to their inspection, the secretariat of the Clinical Biology Commission and the Appeals Committee and the purely administrative management of external quality control. The quality control assessment was then entrusted to control laboratories recognised for this purpose. The second version of the Clinical Biology Laboratory Accreditation Order (1989) provided for a national external quality control programme fully coordinated by Sciensano. As a result, the department’s activities became increasingly important and allowed for more uniform supervision of the quality of laboratories. For the organisation of external quality programmes, the Medical Laboratory Quality Department has ISO/EIC 17043 accreditation. Since 1993, laboratories have been prepared for the obligation to work under a quality assurance system, as set out in the Approval Order of 3 December 1999. This project concerns the QML proficiency test for “Chemistry”.