Publications

In one of the sessions at Arab Health, quality expert Dr. Nashat Nafouri, Executive Officer, Saudi Quality Council spoke about how, in an era of digital natives and proactive consumers seeking quality at the right price, it is imperative to future proof the lab. According to Dr. Nafouri, lab directors are excellent at the science but need to step up to assume the leadership skills that will be required to be effective in the future. Dr. Nafouri introduced the concept of triangle success for future laboratories: the 3Cs and I model . The 3Cs are competency, confidence and consistency, while the I refers to the intellectual property built into all lab processes. With standards, laboratories will have consistency. Peer review gives confidence, and building human capital will take care of competency, said Dr. Nafouri. The intellectual aspect can be ensured by using an approach for management with ISO 15189. Dr. Nafouri explained the importance of leadership in the laboratory, in particular how lab managers could benefit from using the Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI) standards to structure the lab quality system and improve processes. Labs should adopt the body of knowledge of the Clinical Laboratory Management Association (CLMA) as it can help shape future lab leaders. There needs to be an emphasis on the value of proficiency testing programme and unified checklists of the College of American Pathology (CAP). In addition, the international standard ISO 18159 is an approved international approach which can be used to advance quality in clinical laboratories.