RIQAS (Randox International Quality Assessment Scheme) recently became accredited in accordance with ISO/IEC 17043:2010, "Conformity Assessment – General Requirements for Proficiency Testing." All clinical laboratories that seek accreditation to ISO 15189 can now be certain that RIQAS will meet their External Quality Assessment (EQA) requirements.
ISO/IEC 17043:2010 aims to establish internationally harmonized regulations and outlines general requirements that EQA providers must comply with. The need for ongoing confidence in the competence of laboratories is not only essential for individual laboratories but accreditation bodies and other organizations. This new standard enables both participants and laboratory accreditation bodies to have added confidence in the following areas: design and implementation of the EQA scheme; sample quality, manufacture, storage, and transport; statistical practices used to determine participant performance; participant confidentiality; and operation and key functions.
RIQAS is the largest global EQA (proficiency testing) scheme used internationally in over 100 countries by more than 20,000 participants. At present there are 24 comprehensive EQA programs available.
Flexible reporting and parameter options are available to suit the needs of all laboratory sizes and budgets. Furthermore each program contains a combination of routine and specialized parameters enabling increased opportunity for consolidation and significant cost savings. Principle programs include blood gas, clinical chemistry, coagulation, cardiac, glycated haemoglobin, haematology, human urine, immunoassay, immunoassay speciality I, immunoassay speciality II, lipids, maternal screening, serology (HIV-Hepatitis), serology (ToRCH), serology (EBV), serology (syphilis), specific proteins, therapeutic drugs, urinalysis, and urine toxicology.
Source: Randox
