Maintaining Quality Control in Lab Operations - Strategy and Impact
                     
Quality Control is a critical element of laboratory operations. It is essential to ensure that the test procedure 
and results are accurate, to maintain patient safety, and to provide physicians with the information required 
to make informed decisions.
However, managing quality control is a tedious task and can be time-consuming. A commendable 
Pathology Lab Software plays a critical role, in managing quality control at pathology labs, in each of their 
operations.
This article elaborates on how quality control is maintained at labs, and what is required to achieve reliable 
quality control while maintaining brand reputation.

Procedure to Maintain Quality Control at Labs
Following Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Protocols - Every organization is known to have a 
properly destined SOP to follow that guides them to achieve great results, in an organized manner. 
Likewise, for a pathology lab to maintain high-quality control, it is vital to ensure adherence to the lab’s 
SOPs and other protocols. This is done by providing a set of pre-maintained centralized repositories of 
all relevant documents. This way, quality control is managed promptly by all the members in a consistent 
and accurate manner.
Auto-tracking test procedures and results - A lab software is well known for its ability to track the test 
procedure followed and the results to assist in deciding on further actions. Key metrics such as 
turnaround time, accuracy, precision, etc., can be tracked and monitored, which in turn leads to the 
sooner indication of abnormality in results, or even manual errors, if any. Thus it is relatively easy to 
achieve accurate and reliable results from lab operations maintaining quality. 
Centralized Data Management - A dependable LIMS offers a centralized repository of all of its testing 
data that makes data management easy and increases the possibility of maintaining quality control. In 
turn, analyzing data, identifying trends, and making informed decisions from the stored data is seamless, 
which enhances productivity at lab operations. Appropriate data management assists in generating 
reports and dashboards, that provide great insights into the lab’s performance.
Automated Alerts and Notifications - Lab software is designed to 
notify of abnormality while analyzing the test samples, or when 
critical values are encountered from the test results. Lab equipment 
efficiency is also verified and alerts are made when there is a need 
for a fix. This improves the efficiency of labs by alerting them to 
unacceptable conditions, thereby focusing on maintaining the quality 
standards of the lab.
Regulatory Requirement Compliance - For any facility to function 
appropriately, it is critical to adhere to the regulatory requirements. 
All these aspects are equally important in maintaining compliance 
and improving quality control at the labs. A pathology lab software 
can aid in achieving this promptly, as it is capable of guiding to 
perform lab operations only as per the required regulatory 
conditions.
Audit Trails - A lab software helps to track the details of 
sample management as in who and what of the sample 
testing, and the procedure followed thus maintaining the 
audit trails. The lab staff are empowered by this data and 
thus can respond positively towards inaccuracies, ensure 
reliable and prompt handling of the test sample and follow 
the correct procedure in the process.
 
Maintenance and Calibration of Lab Equipment - 
Lab software can be designed to alert on upcoming 
schedules made for equipment maintenance and 
calibration, track and notify on equipment usage thereby 
keeping a check on the equipment in the lab. Thus quality 
control is also maintained as there is no cause for the 
improper functioning of equipment that could lead to 
missed results.
Impact of Maintaining Quality Control
Improved Accuracy and Reliability - Quality Control procedures 
ensure that analytical methods and equipment are working as 
intended and the results are within bounds of accuracy and precision. 
These procedures help to identify problems like equipment malfunction 
or operator errors and make sure to take corrective actions instantly.
Error Reduction - Performance monitoring, method validation, and 
instrument calibration are a few techniques that can assist in 
identifying errors that could compromise the precision and 
dependability of analytical data. Eventually, it is possible to reduce the 
chances of errors and improve the quality of the process and results.
Increased Efficiency - Assuring prompt performance of equipment and 
following processes rightly, helps to reduce TAT and also to achieve more 
tests within a timeframe. Ultimately, this results in improved efficiency thus 
offering great patient care and high outcomes with quality results.
Regulatory Requirement Compliance - Maintaining quality control is 
achieved by adhering to regulatory requirements and various industry 
standards. This leads to seamless operations at labs, resulting in accurate 
and reliable results.
Overall, quality control is an important aspect of testing and calibration at 
diagnostic labs. A reliable pathology lab software can assist in achieving the 
same by ensuring that the processes are followed perfectly, and all the critical 
elements in lab operations are managed in an equally important manner.