Guest Essay
Dr. HMJ Goldschmidt and Dr JC Libeer explain the history of the Quality in the Spotlight conference, an annual event in Europe that is devoted to the topic of quality. Also, a list of "Westgard Award" winners is given.
Sten Westgard provides a report on a presentation from three experts on three different quality management trends. Different approaches are discussed, areas of convergence are described.
Dr. Carmen Ricos and her colleagues have provided us with an update to their Biological Variation Database. New analytes have been added, figures have been updated and in some cases, corrected. This article summarizes all the changes made to the desirable specifications for total error, bias, and imprecision (derived from biological variation) for hundreds of analytes.
Risk Management is coming to laboratory medicine, possibly to a regulation near you. As we learn about the principles, tools, and processes of RM, Sten Westgard reminds us to take time to evaluate the risks.
David Plaut, longtime friend and colleague of Dr. Westgard, recently collaborated on a multisite evaluation of the implementation of "Westgard Rules" in the laboratory. The poster, originally at the 2005 AACC conference, is now available in an expanded format online. And we thank David for it.