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This article published in the Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine journal in 2013 talks about the extremely important, jet many times overlooked, topic of Harmonization in Laboratory Medicine.
Evidence of the acute lack of interchangeable laboratory results and consensus in current practice among clinical laboratories has underpinned greater attention to standardization and harmonization projects. Although the focus is mainly on the standardization of measurement procedures, the scope of harmonization goes beyond method and analytical results: it includes all other aspects of laboratory testing, including terminology and units, report formats, reference intervals and decision limits, as well as test profiles and criteria for the interpretation of results. This review provides further insight on the issue of harmonization in laboratory medicine.
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Karla Lam
15 May 2014
What are your views on laboratory harmonization?
Do you agree with the author that laboratory harmonization should not only include procedures and uniformity of results, but also other aspects of laboratory testing such as terminology and units, reference intervals, sample collection and handling, reporting, etc.?