Download a copy of the 2023 Proficiency Testing Catalogue for complete survey details.

New in 2023

Immunology – C-Reactive Protein (IMGY-CRP) 

• CRP is now a standalone survey separate from the general immunology survey allowing participants to assess performance across a range of CRP assays.
   
• This survey is suitable for high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP), CRP, and wide range CRP assays.
   

Point-of-Care Testing – Coagulation – International Normalized Ratio (POCT-INR) 

• Testing for INR on point-of-care devices is helpful for monitoring vitamin K antagonists.
   
• Proficiency testing evaluates accuracy, reliability, and comparability of INR point-of-care devices for optimal patient safety. 
   
• Participants can compare the POCT INR values with peers who use the same point-of-care devices. 
   

Hematology – Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Test (HEMA-RDT) 

• Testing for malarial antigens present in the peripheral blood using immunochromatographic assay techniques including the Plasmodium falciparum (HRP-II), and/or the pan-malarial antigen (aldolase and lactate dehydrogenase).
   
• Suitable for methods that detect the HRP-II and the Pan-Malarial Antigen (BinaxNOW™ MALARIA, NCS Rapid Test for Malaria Pan/Pf kit).
   

Endocrinology – Special (ENDO-B) 

• The survey will contain parathyroid hormone and renin.
   

Cytogenetics – Fluorescence in situ Hybridization (GENE-FSH) 

• The digital images for this survey are made from FISH-stained preparations including clinical details and probe information. 
   
• Participants will receive two digital images twice per year from oncology and constitutional specimens; interphase and/or metaphase, to challenge FISH analysis and interpretation.

Discover the Difference

Proven quality in service delivery. IQMH Proficiency Testing Programs are accredited by The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) in accordance with the recognized International Standard ISO/IEC 17043:2010 Conformity assessment — General requirements for proficiency testing (Certificate Number: 3059.01). Get the detailed General Program Information document.

Value-added features

• Exclusive access to subject matter experts
  • 57 Scientific Committee members
  • 10 discipline-specific Scientific Committees

Committee members consist of laboratory physicians, scientists, and medical laboratory technologists. They collaborate with the Proficiency Testing (PT) consultant technologists, providing technical and clinical advice regarding program design of the PT survey model, selection of testing material, criteria for performance assessment, provision of educational comments and feedback to participants.

• Exclusive access to educational components
   
  • Committee comments are unique publications that provide participants with educational commentary of a specific survey. Comments are based on the collective experience and expertise of the IQMH Scientific Committees.
     
  • Consensus practice recommendations are based on a review of current practice for a given medical laboratory test or process and recommends best practice. The document is frequently based on findings from PT patterns-of-practice surveys, which may initially be published as a committee comment, and recommendations are confirmed by evidence documented in the scientific literature. Once completed, it is circulated to stakeholders for feedback and acceptance. It is reviewed periodically for continued relevance.
     
  • Reviews are educational/guidance documents intended to provide an overview of a scientific or technical topic, including background, clinical, analytical, or technical information, the relevance and importance of the subject matter, and potential future directions. The content is derived through comprehensive review of available published scientific literature and input and experience provided from experts in the field. It does not contain committee recommendations and is not a consensus document. 
     
• Paperless

Program participants are provided with access to the secure IQMH client portal, QView™, which allows:

• Online submission of results.
   
• 24/7 access to all program-related documents.
   
• Access to a facility’s PT performance data using an electronic query, giving laboratory leaders the ability to download the data in Excel, review and use for analysis and continual improvement; and
   
• Monitoring of:
  • Testing Schedules
  • Report Publication Dates
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• Detailed survey reports
   
  • General reports summarize performance of all participants in comparison to the assigned value;
     
  • Provisional reports summarize the expected results as determined from the assigned value;
     
  • Final reports provide your results in comparison to all submitted results;
     
  • Cumulative reports demonstrate your results over time;
     
  • Performance summary reports provide a summary of performance for all IQMH PT programs participated in by a laboratory within that year. This report can be used for management review; and 
     
  • Precision reports provide laboratories an opportunity to evaluate their intra-laboratory precision. These reports are generated once a year in some quantitative surveys.
     
• Focus on pre- and post-analytical phases of laboratory testing, and the analytical phase
   
  • Wet challenge surveys consist of authentic and simulated human samples distributed to participants for testing in the same manner as routine specimens.
     
  • Educational surveys utilize digital images and/or case studies to establish and improve the current level of understanding about a topic of interest.
     
  • Patterns-of-practice, pre- and post-analytical, surveys assess laboratory practices through review of questionnaires and/or participant documents and records associated with work-up of real patient samples for criterion-referenced assessment.
     
• Guided discordant findings investigation

Laboratories achieving an unsatisfactory result in a survey or unacceptable performance in a series of surveys are provided with an opportunity to complete and submit a discordant findings investigation form that provides guidance in cause analysis and creates a record of corrective and preventive actions to meet their accreditation or regulatory requirements. Submission of discordant findings investigation forms is mandatory for Ontario licensed laboratories. Volunteer participants may choose to participate in this process. 

Continual improvement. We expand our services each year to cover more testing to better serve the medical laboratory community.

Order your 2023 proficiency testing surveys! Order deadline is Monday, December 5, 2022.