Quick Quiz: Interpretation of metrics of quality and risk in medical laboratories

Lab A & B both test the same patient volume and use the CLIA limit as TEa. Which lab is best?

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* 1. Complete this to stay informed of results and webinars (Name & email required)

Name *

Company

City/Town

State/Province

Country

Email Address *

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* 2. Lab A and Lab B both have a total error of 0.9 mg/dL for the same test. Which Lab’s adds the least cost to the healthcare system?

Lab A

Lab B

Both are equal

Unable to judge with the information provided

No clue

Not the sort of decision I make

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* 3. Lab A has a sigma of 2.5 and Lab B of has a sigma of 3.0.
Which Lab creates the fewest failures of the Total Allowable Error limit?

Lab A

Lab B

Both are equal

Unable to judge with the information provided

No clue

Not the sort of decision I make

Question Title

* 4. Lab A creates 113 failures of the CLIA limit/year; Lab B creates 25 failures of the CLIA limit/year. Both test the same patient volume.
Which Lab is the Best?

Lab A

Lab B

Both are equal

Unable to judge with the information provided

No clue

Not the sort of decision I make

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* 5. Lab A adds $40,000 to clinical cost due to lab error. Lab B adds $100,000 to clinical cost due to lab error. Both test the same patient volume.
Which Lab is the Best?

Lab A

Lab B

Both are equal

Unable to judge with the information provided

No clue

Not the sort of decision I make

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* 6. Lab A takes 20 runs, Lab B takes 8, to detect 5% simulated failure of the CLIA limit. Both test the same patient volume. Which Lab is the Best?

Lab A

Lab B

Both are equal

Unable to judge with the information provided

No clue

Not the sort of decision I make

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* 7. These 'Risk Bellz' show the distribution of QC data for a sample with a true value of 10.0. Which Lab is the Best?

Lab A

Lab B

Both are equal

Unable to judge with the information provided

No clue

Not the sort of decision I make

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* 8. Is it possible that Lab A and B are the same labs in each case?

Yes

Both are equal

Unable to judge with the information provided

No clue

Not the sort of decision I make

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* 9. If a calcium sample has a true value of 10.0 mg/dL (2.5 mmol/L) and it is reported as 10.5, that adds $100 in average follow up costs. Results with error above 11 mg/dL (the CLIA limit) add $200. Which Lab adds the MOST clinical cost to the healthcare system?

Lab A

Lab B

Lab C

Unable to judge with the information provided

No clue

Not the sort of decision I make

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* 10. Which single metric is best to evaluate stable patient risk levels?

Total Error

Sigma

Margin for Error

Number of Medically-Unreliable Results/Year

Clinical/legal cost of Medically-Unreliable Results/Year

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* 11. Which single metric is best to evaluate effectiveness of statistical QC to detect failure of acceptable risk?

Total Error

Sigma

Margin for Error

Number of Medically-Unreliable Results/Year

Clinical/legal cost of Medically-Unreliable Results/Year

Number of QC runs before first QC flag after a simulated failure of acceptable risk

Clinical/legal cost of QC runs before first QC flag after a simulated failure of acceptable risk

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* 12. The purpose of quality control is to detect clinically-significant change.
These graphs show patient results from a stable outpatient population. Did patient risk change?

Yes. If the patient population is stable, the % abnormal should be stable

No. This shift is not clinically significant.

No Clue

Please comment

Question Title

* 1. Complete this to stay informed of results and webinars (Name & email required)

Question Title

* 2. Lab A and Lab B both have a total error of 0.9 mg/dL for the same test. Which Lab’s adds the least cost to the healthcare system?

Question Title

* 3. Lab A has a sigma of 2.5 and Lab B of has a sigma of 3.0. Which Lab creates the fewest failures of the Total Allowable Error limit?

Question Title

* 4. Lab A creates 113 failures of the CLIA limit/year; Lab B creates 25 failures of the CLIA limit/year. Both test the same patient volume. Which Lab is the Best?

Question Title

* 5. Lab A adds $40,000 to clinical cost due to lab error. Lab B adds $100,000 to clinical cost due to lab error. Both test the same patient volume. Which Lab is the Best?

Question Title

* 6. Lab A takes 20 runs, Lab B takes 8, to detect 5% simulated failure of the CLIA limit. Both test the same patient volume. Which Lab is the Best?

Question Title

* 7. These 'Risk Bellz' show the distribution of QC data for a sample with a true value of 10.0. Which Lab is the Best?

Question Title

* 8. Is it possible that Lab A and B are the same labs in each case?

Question Title

* 9. If a calcium sample has a true value of 10.0 mg/dL (2.5 mmol/L) and it is reported as 10.5, that adds $100 in average follow up costs. Results with error above 11 mg/dL (the CLIA limit) add $200. Which Lab adds the MOST clinical cost to the healthcare system?

Question Title

* 10. Which single metric is best to evaluate stable patient risk levels?

Question Title

* 11. Which single metric is best to evaluate effectiveness of statistical QC to detect failure of acceptable risk?

Question Title

* 12. The purpose of quality control is to detect clinically-significant change. These graphs show patient results from a stable outpatient population. Did patient risk change?

* 3. Lab A has a sigma of 2.5 and Lab B of has a sigma of 3.0.
Which Lab creates the fewest failures of the Total Allowable Error limit?

* 4. Lab A creates 113 failures of the CLIA limit/year; Lab B creates 25 failures of the CLIA limit/year. Both test the same patient volume.
Which Lab is the Best?

* 5. Lab A adds $40,000 to clinical cost due to lab error. Lab B adds $100,000 to clinical cost due to lab error. Both test the same patient volume.
Which Lab is the Best?

* 12. The purpose of quality control is to detect clinically-significant change.
These graphs show patient results from a stable outpatient population. Did patient risk change?