Study on the performance of medical laboratories in Romania: microbial etiological agents identification

Abstract

Medical laboratories must offer reliable services to the patient, and the way to guarantee this is by demonstrating their performance. External Quality Control (EQC) is a tool that helps the laboratories measure their performance, identify possible errors, and improve their activity. The aim of our research has been divided into three segments, which included the evaluation of the accuracy rate in pathogen identification, examining the unsatisfactory results, and investigating the identification methods utilized by the laboratories in Romania. As the analyses of pharyngeal exudate and urine are the most commonly requested in medical laboratories and also in External Quality Control, we have focused on the findings obtained from these programs.