Analysis of trends of post-analytical quality indicators in Clinical Bacteriology laboratory: A pilot study from a tertiary care teaching hospital in Uttarakhand, India

Abstract Context Implementation of quality management system (QMS) which encompasses various quality indicators (QIs), can serve as a stepping stone for continuous improvement & help in achieving globally accepted quality standards in a diagnostic laboratory. Aims To generate preliminary data on trends of post-analytical QIs in Bacteriology section. Settings and design A pilot study was conducted at a tertiary care teaching hospital located in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. Methods and material Data of the following four quality indicators pertaining to aerobic culture and sensitivity testing of various clinical samples received in Clinical Bacteriology laboratory was compiled and retrospectively analysed: (i) Rate of reporting errors; (ii) Rate of re-dos; (iii) Percentage of reports correlating with clinical diagnosis; (iv) Percentage of adherence to safety precautions by employees working in diagnostics. Statistical analysis used Descriptive statistics like mean and frequency distribution plots. Results The mean reporting error rate was 0.12 per 1000 tests. It was consistently low from July 2018 to May 2019, after which an overall increasing trend was observed. The mean rate of re-dos was 2.79 per 1000 tests. An overall decreasing trend was observed with maximum rates during the months of December 2017 and January 2018. On an average only 7.86% of the reports co-related with clinical diagnosis. Almost 100% adherence to safety precautions was observed with the exception of two instances of needle stick injuries (NSIs). Conclusions Commitment of laboratory personnel in adopting, maintaining and analysing QMS data will lead to further strengthening of our existing healthcare system.