As much as we might want to, 2020 has been a year that none of us are likely to forget. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused global social and economic disruption, cancellations and postponements of events, travel restrictions, and lockdowns across the world. Today, the pressure on our Canadian healthcare systems has never been greater with daily case numbers continuing to rise, increasing hospital admissions, and ICU bed occupancy reaching critical capacity levels.

The IQMH Centre for Proficiency Testing released its Proficiency Testing Programs in the 2021 Catalogue in August.

IQMH is resuming accreditation assessment activities as of October 26 using a revised approach. To the extent possible, we will be conducting assessments remotely in order to reduce the number of assessors on-site to as few as possible for the shortest time needed. You will be contacted by the Staff Technologist assigned to your assessment with specific details. Thank you for your continued cooperation at this difficult time. 

Like many organizations, IQMH quickly pivoted to remote work with the COVID-19 pandemic. This was relatively easy as we were already connected remotely, accessing our network, portal and our quality management system (QMS) over the Internet.

IQMH is seeking volunteers to sit on its Proficiency Testing Scientific Committee(s) and Accreditation Advisory Panel, effective January 1, 2021.   Membership on committees consists of a three-year term of office, renewable once. Committees meet an average of four times a year for half-day or full-day meetings.

IQMH is implementing stricter QView™ password rules in our commitment to protecting your privacy and confidential information. On Thursday, July 30,^, 2020, when you log in to QView™, you will be asked to change your password.

As previously communicated, IQMH has been operating as a virtual office since the physical office was closed in mid-March. We are now planning to gradually re-open with a very limited number of staff present on-site commencing on July 13, 2020 or thereabouts. However, the vast majority of IQMH staff will continue to work from home during this early phase. 

You may experience service interruption on IQMH.org to Thursday, June 4, 2020 due to a major website migration project.

The service interruption may occur late in the afternoon on June 4 and is not expected to last longer than an hour.

Please make appropriate work-related arrangements in order to accommodate this service interruption.

In recognition of National Volunteer Week, we would like to thank all the dedicated laboratory professionals who generously donate their time and expertise. We have many volunteers to thank: Scientific Committee members, Accreditation Assessors, and Slide Assessors.

To defeat COVID-19 everyone has to do their part. Accreditation Canada, Health Standards Organization Institute for Quality Management in Healthcare and our partners have released a suite of resources to support health care and social service workers and their organizations.