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David Williams wrote: Should these "analyses" be subject to the same recommendations that we apply to ward and out-patient instruments? Should CPA refuse to accredit such a service unless these ephemeral investigations. > Or are these tests rarely used seriously and never acted upon in the clinical > situation? CPA will perhaps wish to speak for itself, but personally I think you have a point. Surely this is a 'clinical governance' issue and should be investigated by clinical audit. If the tests aren't being used seriously or acted upon they are a waste of resources and should be withdrawn from that location. If they are being used in earnest, training and QA schemes should be in place. In the latter case, CPA inspectors ought to look closely at stick testing practices, as they do for blood glucose measurement. In practice there are problems with the amount of work involved and in selecting suitable QC materials to distribute. I know pilot schemes have been discussed but are any operating yet? Many labs (and some strip users) might protest at the amount of work involved but if CPA insisted we would have to do it, if want accreditation. Steve Dr Stephen Frost Clinical Biochemistry Department Haywards Heath West Sussex [log in to unmask] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%