Molecular Quality Controls are Too Much To Be Neglected 

A lab in a pioneering field like molecular infectious-disease testing merits an excellent quality control program for strengthening confidence in lab performance and supporting patient care. Though, molecular diagnostics QC standards are not as well-defined. The fast innovation and developing regulations pertaining to molecular testing can make it hard for creating and maintaining an effective QC program, for quality, efficacy, and regulatory needs. 

The blog throws some light on relevant QC considerations for molecular diagnostics and presents effective QC solutions and finest practices for supporting the molecular laboratories. 

Improving Lab Performance with Molecular Quality Control 

Systematic quality control is a lab’s first line of defense against disastrous consequences. This is true for clinical labs since results directly influence the treatment of patients.  

Moreover, any alteration in the test system or procedure could affect the integrity and quality of results. Instrument malfunctions, procedural errors environmental alterations and any other variables can also change test results. While some of the subsequent effects are obvious, others are subtle and can be discovered only with methodical quality control analysis. 

By following thorough quality control procedures, molecular labs can monitor testing for both systematic and random errors, along with immediate data shifts and irregular long-term trends. The early discovery of irregularities allows labs to address matters, before they have a negative impact on the data of the patients. 

A standard quality control program may only rely on in-kit controls and proficiency surveys. Supplementing this with third-party controls, along with a QC data management software, significantly fortifies QC measures, while justifying any bias resulting from in-kit materials. A rigorous QC program not just helps fulfil regulatory needs, but it also surges result confidence, improves competence, reduces budgetary waste, and simplifies lab procedures. 

Streamlining Quality Control with DMS 

Integrating DMS into molecular labs is a transformative step in revolutionizing, simplifying, and consolidating lab procedures. Following a rigorous quality control program is critical, particularly when dealing with patient specimens. It can be hard to prioritize quality while concentrating on time saving, fulfilling with guidelines, and reducing expenses. Automating data management is the solution to significantly simplify this quality control process. 

Effective quality control data management software programs automate all the processes. Data can flow straight from instruments and LIS to QC data management software, removing the unwanted manual data recording step. This creates a dependable, precise and consistent database of results. Labs can monitor data instantly as it is communicated to the software.  

Consequently, errors that may go unnoticed otherwise can be identified and resolved. In molecular testing, this can be done by monitoring cycle threshold values. When changes in standards, operators, the environment, and maintenance of the equipment take place, the software will recognize any resulting shifts or trends. 

A powerful QC DMS platform should offer access to data from peer groups, a vital resource for comparing testing performance across molecular labs. This is not just a good preparation for testing the proficiency, but also helps recognize problem areas while helping with troubleshooting. 

Coming to a Conclusion 

Molecular quality controls lower the risk of inaccurate results that could result in retesting or bring about misdiagnosis.  It is because of increasing use of third-part quality controls, the demand for molecular quality controls to reach USD 313.7 million by the end of this decade.