Brazilian laboratory indicators benchmarking program: three-year experience on pre-analytical quality indicators.

Objectives: In the laboratory medicine segment, benchmarking is the process in which institutions seek to compare with the macro environment (performance comparison and best practices with different laboratories) and improve their results based on quality indicators. The literature has highlighted the vulnerability of the pre-analytical phase in terms of risks and failures and the use of interlaboratory comparison as an opportunity to define a strategic performance benchmark aligned with the laboratory medicine sector, which has been a promising strategy to ensure continuous improvement, identifying within the pre-analytical process the critical activities to guarantee patient safety. In this context, this paper aims to present the three-year experience (2016-2018) of the Benchmarking Program and Laboratory Indicators - in Portuguese, (PBIL) - with emphasis on pre-analytical indicators and their comparison against literature references and other programs of benchmarking in the area of laboratory medicine.

Results of Laboratory Tests not Accessed in Brazilian Private Laboratories.

Background: Laboratory medicine is an important part of the healthcare system and directly contributes to preventive actions, diagnostics, treatment, and management of diseases. The level and quality of the utilization of laboratory resources have been frequently questioned. A dissemination of conflicting data regarding the quantity of laboratory tests not accessed by the requesting doctors or by the patients themselves is observed, although very often the sources and methodologies used to raise those numbers are not properly clarified.