New Guidelines
In response to a disastrous mix-up wherein 400 breast cancer patients in Newfoundland were given inaccurate test results between 1997-2005, the Canadian Association of Pathologists has announced new guidelines for the country's laboratory services.
CTV.ca reports the new plan calls for:
- mandatory certification for every prognostic and predictive test given by a medical laboratory;
- test results from one lab to be verified by another, independent laboratory;
- a national checklist for laboratories to follow to standardize operating procedures and equipment maintenance, test validation and staff training and evaluation;
- creation of a national body, independent of the government, to accredit all medical laboratories in Canada; and
- immediate and ongoing action from federal, provincial and territorial governments to address manpower and resource shortages in medical labs.