A facility's annual appraisal or report historically has evaluated the traditional quality assurance (QA) role of morbidity and mortality, infection control, tissue review, and medical record data. With the evolution of QA to performance improvement (PI), the traditional annual appraisal has had to expand to address multiple organizational programs, projects, ...

Indonesia was appointed by the ASEAN Technical Cooperation in Pharmaceutical as a focal point and to coordinate the development of practical guidelines for the implementation of GMP. The ASEAN GMP Guidelines were endorsed by the ASEAN Technical Cooperation in Pharmaceutical in 1988, which among others required separation of Beta-Lactam dedicated ...

A significant member benefit offered by organized dentistry is peer review. DSSNY President Henry Gaines refers to peer review as "the crown jewel" of the Society's programs. Indeed, dental societies throughout the country look to DSSNY's peer review program as a model for how to provide quality assurance to patients ...

This paper provides the reader with a step-by-step guide to the process of validation. It is argued that validation should provide a forum for the constructive discussion and rigorous scrutiny of all aspects of the proposed course. This is an essential part of any educational institution's quality assurance program.

PURPOSE: Knowledge of quality assurance concepts and development of evaluation skills are essential to demonstrating professional accountability. Evaluation skills include self-assessment and peer review, both of which need to be specifically taught and practiced. The purpose of this study was twofold: 1) to determine if quality assurance concepts were taught ...

The European radiotherapy society has for many years had a great interest in quality assurance. The EORTC radiotherapy group has put enormous effort into its quality assurance programmes. However, besides programmes for dosimetry and guide-lines for infrastructure, the organisation of a department should also be subject to a quality assurance ...

Myelomeningocele is a birth defect that results in lifelong consequences for the child and family. One of the abnormalities that results from the defect is a neurogenic bladder. Most children with myelomeningoceles will require a clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) program for continence. Yet, many children do not have success with ...

Despite the increasing demand for outcome assessment measures, no published reports have provided a standardized way to assess psychiatric inpatients that includes diagnosis and observer ratings of psychopathology. This paper reviews general principles for selecting outcome assessment measures, proposes a battery of instruments based on already available measures to assess ...

In conclusion, the quality assurance and monitoring program is an integral and continuing part of study operations. A system must be devised and implemented by the coordinating center investigators, with the endorsement of the study leadership and support of the field site and resource center personnel. Proactive mechanisms for promoting ...

Multirod arrays can be used to produce irregularly shaped irradiation fields for use in external beam photon and neutron radiation therapy. Two prototype multirod collimators have been built for use with high energy photon beams. A practical multirod collimator is in routine use with the fast neutron beam at a ...

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the fees it will assess for inspections of mammography facilities during fiscal year 1995 (FY 95). The Mammography Quality Standards Act of 1992 (MQSA) requires FDA to assess and collect fees from mammography facilities to cover the costs of annual inspections required ...

It is certainly my pleasure to be here today. Several months ago, Pat Pomerleau invited me to be on your program. At the time, I had no idea that I would be speaking as Paul Lepore, private citizen, rather than Paul Lepore, regulator and bureaucrat. However, the Food and Drug ...

The objectives of toxicokinetic (TK) studies are to evaluate systemic exposure of the toxicity species to drug and/or metabolite(s) and to relate exposure to dose level and toxicological findings. The tacit assumption is that such exposure can be related to target organ toxicity. Planning a TK program involves early development ...

The current practice of screening mammography in the United States has been the focus of numerous legislative and regulatory mandates at the state and federal levels, both in terms of increasing access to age-eligible women and elevating the quality of mammographic imaging. Several parameters have emerged as central to a ...

The College of American Pathologists (CAP) provides quality assurance programs for clinical laboratories, including surveys for external quality assessment, quality assurance service for internal and regional quality control, and Q-probes for overall quality assurance including pre- and post-analytic factors. These are complemented by inspections through the laboratory accreditation program and ...

Teleradiology is the electronic transmission of radiologic images from one location to another for the purpose of interpretation or consultation. The use of teleradiology expands the responsibilities of the supervising radiologists, physicists, and engineers. Teleradiology is being utilized increasingly to provide remote primary diagnoses rather than just preliminary interpretations or ...

Describes the three stages of implementation of a quality assurance programme (preparatory, development of quality assurance structure and process, appearance of quality assurance outcomes). Observes that it is advantageous to implement the programme by providing external support to internal quality assurance efforts. Mentions the way of conducting a formative and ...

Residue analysis frequently presents a challenge to the quality assurance (QA) auditor due to the sheer volume of data to be audited. In the face of multiple boxes of raw data, some process must be defined that assures the scientist and the QA auditor of the quality and integrity of ...

It has been my experience that the quality assurance unit (QAU) normally serves as the facility point-of-contact with the agency on matters relating to a Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) compliance inspection. The QAU usually receives the notification letter, does most of the coordinating for the GLP inspection, and often bears ...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Federal Insecticide. Fungicide and Rodenticide Act and Toxic Substance Control Act Standards issued in 1989 presented a new task for the Quality Assurance Unit (QAU). Sections .190 and .195 of these Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) Standards require "quality assurance verification" prior to the disposal ...

Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy (L.C.) offers advantages that are realized only when patient safety is assured. In November 1990, The Department of Surgery at The New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens initiated a program to introduce this new technology to surgeons who had not performed the operation previously. A preceptorship program ...

Quality assurance in radiation oncology attempts to prescribe consistent, safe, and optimal delivery of radiation to treat disease. It encompasses three major areas of treatment: clinical, physical, and technical. Although national approaches and guidelines of quality assurance in radiation oncology are available, they usually are not adequate to deal with ...

To develop a quality formulary system, a proactive approach is necessary. This approach incorporates a prospective product and concurrent product analyses. A prospective product analysis, in turn, involves a review of current formulary agents, those likely to enter the marketplace shortly, and the formation of an expert review panel. This ...

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing regulations to implement the Mammography Quality Standards Act of 1992 (MQSA). The MQSA requires the establishment of a Federal certification and inspection program for mammography facilities; regulations and standards for accrediting bodies for mammography facilities; and standards for mammography equipment, personnel, and ...

Today's research universities strive to meet goals in education, research, and service within an academic environment. A quality assurance and quality control program is critical to achieving excellence in all areas. However, the role of quality in research at higher education institutions is difficult to determine or consistently implement due ...

Although the busy rural GP may have special needs and particular difficulties with regard to CME, there are a number of ways of meeting these needs and surmounting the barriers. Continuing feedback from those 'at the coal face' is a vital part of this process. Please contact the QA and ...

The Canadian National Calibration Reference Center for Bioassay and in-vivo Monitoring is part of the Radiation Protection Bureau, Department of Health. The Reference Center operates a variety of different intercomparison programs that are designed to confirm that workplace monitoring results are accurate and provide the necessary external verification required by ...

As the federal end-stage renal disease (ESRD) program enters its third decade, it continues to grow both in terms of patient enrollment and cost. High visibility as well as patient, physician, and societal concerns regarding ESRD treatment outcomes and expenditures make the development of improved and expanded quality assurance and ...

This report details the transition we made from a quality assurance program to a continuous quality improvement process. We were frustrated by the failure of traditional quality assurance programs to unify the staff toward goals and objectives that would improve our quality and reduce our costs. The change has take ...

This paper describes the history of mammography quality assurance legislation in Michigan, the first of its kind in the nation. It discusses the collaboration of multiple organizations in the legislative process as well as in the implementation of it. It describes the effect of the legislation on the quality of ...

Developing, implementing, and maintaining a productivity program are basic tenets of good management. While it does require time and commitment, a well-designed program is well worth the time investment. Increasingly, health information management professionals will be expected to monitor productivity and streamline work processes to help assure efficient, cost-effective support ...

A quality assurance program is an integral part of a department of radiology, but certain examinations require a more specialized approach than others. The need for greater quality control in mammography was recognized by the American College of Radiology in 1987. The voluntary program developed by this organization has greatly ...

Statistical auditing is a new report review process used by the quality assurance unit at Eli Lilly and Co. Statistical auditing allows the auditor to review the process by which the report was generated, as opposed to the process by which the data was generated. We have the flexibility to ...

Recent discoveries and innovations in DNA technology have provided scientists with the ability to rapidly identify complex organisms, or samples therefrom, by detailed study of their genes and genome. In various disciplines, most notably in human forensic identifications, parentage tests and disease diagnosis, these activities have moved to commercial practice. ...

In 1990 the Sisters of Charity began offering a mentoring program to ensure that sisters who serve on boards of its sponsored institutions can fulfill their commitment to effective stewardship. For participating healthcare facilities, the program offers an assurance that their trustees will have a clear direction, common information, and ...

A short quiz of Addiction Severity Index (ASI) coding conventions was developed to identify coding inconsistencies within a large group of trained interviewers, as one step in an overall program of quality assurance monitoring. Problem items, in which less than 75% of the quiz respondents answered correctly, existed in almost ...

A checklist is described that is designed to permit a systematic evaluation of the factors involved in the trial insertion appointment. The checklist aids both the student and the instructor in assuring that items are not overlooked during this important appointment. More equitable grading of the student's preparation and knowledge ...

A cost-effective audit system has been developed that will both detect systematic error in data and procedures and evaluate the quality assurance programme provided by a physics department for radiotherapy. The audit has been developed for external beam radiotherapy and assesses one modality and one treatment machine per year. The ...

The JDC-Brookdale Institute of Gerontology, in collaboration with Israel's Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and Ministry of Health, has developed a program to improve government regulation of long-term care institutions for the elderly, and thus the quality of institutional care. The aim of the program was to introduce greater ...

It has been said that you cannot improve what you cannot measure. At Eli Lilly and Company, measurement is one of the five pillars of Total Quality. Quality Assurance and Toxicology have partnered in the use of measures to drive improvements in both areas. Quality Assurance and Toxicology have embarked ...

Quality assurance (QA) refers to all planned, systematic activities that instill confidence that quality mammography is being performed. Quality control (QC) refers only to the technical aspects of the examination. Standardized labeling of mammograms and the format for mammographic reports are important parts of a QA program; recommendations for both ...

The National Toxicology Program (NTP) Board of Scientific Counselors met on April 14 and 15, 1992 to review the NTP. This paper provides an overview of the Board's Report with an emphasis on the recommendations made by the Carcinogenesis Working Group. The prime overall recommendation is that the NTP should ...

To summarize, the key features of the MQSA program are: To operate lawfully after October 1, 1994, a mammography facility must be certified by FDA as providing quality mammography services. For a facility to be certified, it must be accredited by a federally-approved private nonprofit or state accreditation body. To ...

We show a rate-distortion optimal way to threshold or drop the DCT coefficients of the JPEG and MPEG compression standards. Our optimal algorithm uses a fast dynamic programming recursive structure. The primary advantage of our approach lies in its complete compatibility with standard JPEG and MPEG decoders.

A research program related to the assessment of toxic heavy metals and essential trace elements in foodstuffs has been carried out in 12 countries under the auspices of the IAEA. The main purpose of this program was to obtain data on the elemental concentrations of potentially toxic elements in foodstuffs ...

Somatic cell and gene therapy involve the application of biological technologies to an individual patient through the use of living cells which provide a therapeutic benefit (Aliski, 1991). Various forms of cellular and gene therapies are being developed and evaluated in an increasing number of clinical trials for congenital and ...

This article, which will be published in two parts, presents the basic principles of quality assurance and describes how they can be applied in a medical manufacturing environment. Although quality assurance standards in manufacturing will be harmonized one day, they will remain open to nationalistic interpretation. Thus, it is instructive ...

Examinations were performed on 585 Army Reserve Component soldiers during their 2-week Annual Training at Fort Pickett, Virginia, from June through September 1991. Of the 585 soldiers examined, 338 (57.8%) were in class 3 using the current DoD criteria, while 272 (46.5%) were in class 3 using the previous criteria. ...

The 1994 Avionics and Airframe Survey was sent to 178 chief or lead pilots of helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) programs in October 1993, and 100 (56%) were returned. Sixty-four programs (64%) reported that they operate one helicopter exclusively for EMS, 24 (24%) operate two, and 12 (12%) reported using ...

Several organizations in the United States have recently been involved in the quality assurance of immunophenotyping using flow cytometry. These activities include publication of guidelines for immunophenotyping, particularly in human immunodeficiency virus infection, performance evaluation and proficiency testing programs, and training and continuing education programs. Through questionnaires and results from ...