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11.09.2009 Commentary

News commentary on the dangers associated with sub-standard medical laboratories

By GBC NEWS
News commentary on the dangers associated with sub-standard medical laboratories
11.09.2009 LISTEN

A major area of concern in the health delivery system in the country is the danger associated with the operations of sub-standard medical laboratories. This is of grave concern because many medical laboratories do not conform to the requirements for the competence of testing and calibration and are likely to give wrong diagnosis of diseases and subsequent treatment.

Some of the services provided by medical laboratories are arrangement for requisition, patient preparation, patient identification and collection and transportation of samples.  Others are storage processing and examination of clinical samples and validation, interpretation and reporting of test results.  Equally important are considerations of safety and ethics in medical laboratory work.

Though medical laboratories play a crucial role in the health delivery system, wrong diagnosis of diseases and inaccurate test results due to inefficient equipment and medical devices can result in the deterioration of the health of patients and in some cases death.

According to a après statement issued by the Ghana Standards Board, diagnosis based on false negative results can be disastrous to the health and wellbeing of patients.  This situation can lead to emotional stress and bring about lower productivity.

Already, the Association of Private Medical Laboratories has warned of the possibility of widespread wrong diagnosis of diseases and treatment which could lead to avoidable death.

Some health professionals have also described the trend as dangerous phenomenon which must be regulated immediately to ensure that unlicensed health facilities are not allowed to operate.

There is, therefore, the need to ensure that medical laboratories satisfy the requirement for quality, competence, accuracy and reliability.  This calls for the provision of a framework for the design and improvement of a process-based quality management system by medical laboratories.

Needless to say, the time has come for all stakeholders within the health sector to collaborate with each other as well as the Ghana Standards Board to ensure that the issues of competence and quality are met at all times by all medical laboratories in the country.

Regular training of laboratory professionals as well as calibration of medical devices are needed to upgrade the levels of competence and reliability of medical laboratories.  The time has come for medical laboratories to be compelled to open up to the Ghana Standards Board to be able to meet the essential requirement of quality and competence.

Since medical laboratory services are essential to patient care, every effort must be made now to ensure the safety of patients through quality, accurate and reliable services.

By:  Kofi Amponsah-Bediako, Marketing and Public Relation Department,

Ghana Standards Board.

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