Quality control in laboratory testing has traditionally focused on the examination phase of the total testing process. However, periodic testing of control materials may not be sufficient to ensure process control for all test systems and in all testing environments. An individualized quality control plan (IQCP) is a QC plan that is tailored to a laboratory's unique environment (e.g., testing personnel, samples, reagents, and testing systems). An IQCP is a quality management tool intended to identify and minimize the risks that could lead to the reporting of erroneous laboratory test results.
IQCP requires continuous monitoring of quality. A laboratory that develops an IQCP looks at the total testing process, from the creation of the test order (preanalytic/preexamination) to the reporting of the result in the patient’s record (postanalytic/postexamination), to identify where errors potentially could occur and how those errors could impact patient care.
