TY - JOUR T1 - Impact of a pulmonary laboratory quality control oversight on continual improvement JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J VL - 40 IS - Suppl 56 SP - P3206 AU - Carl Mottram AU - Susan Blonshine AU - Karin Kijek AU - Jeremy Road Y1 - 2012/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P3206.abstract N2 - Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a quality control (QC) oversight program on compliance with QC, biological coefficient of variation (CV) targets, and test performance improvements.Methods: The Diagnostic Accreditation Program (DAP) of British Columbia is responsible for accrediting 27 pulmonary function (PF) laboratories representing 45 testing systems throughout the Canadian province. In 2008 DAP elevated the required elements of their quality assurance program to be more consistent with the current ATS-ERS recommendations for QC testing. This included increasing the frequency of the biological testing and adding a diffusing capacity mechanical QC model. DAP also changed the data review model to include assessment by an external consultant with a feedback report process to the sites. We compared the data through 2011 to assess the impact of the feedback process. Data were categorized into major and minor subsets for compliance, BioQC targets, and test performance based on an assessment of overall impact of the deficiency on lab performance (e.g. BioQC DLCO CV target < 5%, a CV >5<10 categorized as minor; CV >10% a major deficiency).View this table:ResultsDiscussion: There was a significant improvement in all three areas of the monitoring program with a total improvement of 61% (p<0.05). Using a formal external oversight process which includes written feedback appears to improve the overall outcome of this regulated quality assurance program. ER -