EQA tests

When a lab’s inaccurate measurement values simulate critical blood values, the result can be false diagnoses, unnecessary diagnostic measures and inappropriate treatment. Therefore, in addition to procedures that ensure internal quality, Germany also requires medical laboratories to regularly participate in EQA tests. The current guidelines of the German Medical Association for quality assurance in medical laboratory tests (August 2014) define the requirements for the EQA tests in five areas:

B1 quantitative medical laboratory testing
B2 qualitative medical laboratory testing
B 3 direct detection and characterisation of infectious agents
B 4 sperm analysis
B 5 molecular-genetic and cytogenetic medical laboratory tests

As a reference institution of the German Medical Association, INSTAND e.V. has been commissioned with conducting EQA tests for the areas B 1, B 2, B 3 and B 5. As part of its quality control programme, INSTAND e.V. currently offers around 350 EQA tests for various areas of laboratory diagnostics. In doing so we not only cover the range of analytes listed in the guidelines of the German Medical Association. Many of our participating labs would like to check their performance beyond these requirements and compare themselves with other labs. In these cases, we offer a range of “voluntary” EQA tests. The results submitted to us are assessed using robust statistical models. At the end of this evaluation our participants receive a qualified report on the comparability of their analysis results with other labs and analysis methods. Therefore, in addition to the certificate, an overview of individual results is an integral part of the evaluation documentation. This enables participants to recognise whether their own result is within the valuation area, the percent to which it deviates from the target value, and whether the requirements of the EQA assessment have been fulfilled. In addition to the EQA evaluation, those interested can also receive comments by the EQA adviser, which touch on specific issues in a technically sound way.