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About CMC EQAS

The attainment of quality service in a laboratory requires a comprehensive Quality Assurance Program which includes both Internal and External quality control material.

The Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Christian Medical College, Vellore under the banner of The Association of Clinical Biochemists of India (ACBI) is conducting an External Quality Assessment Scheme (EQAS) since 1978. The Participants represent all the states of India and also neighbouring countries - Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The participating laboratories include teaching and non-teaching hospital laboratories, government as well as private, small hospitals, private clinics and diagnostic centers.

It is a twelve-month program starting from January to December every year. Those who wish to enrol their laboratories during the middle of a cycle can do so by paying the same registration fee, but those labs who report results for at least six months are eligible for the participation certificates at the end of the cycle.

The various programs in the scheme include:

1. Chemistry I - Glucose, Urea, Creatinine, T. Bilirubin, T. Protein, Albumin, Calcium, Phosphorus, Uric acid, Triglyceride, HDL, Cholesterol, Sodium, Potassium, Chloride, Bicarbonate, AST, ALT, ALP, amylase, Iron, Magnesium, Lithium and UIBC, (LDL cholesterol and D. Bilirubin - Non accredited)
2. Chemistry II – Glucose, Urea, Creatinine, T. Bilirubin, T protein, Albumin, Uric acid, Cholesterol and Triglyceride.
3. Thyroid and Cortisol - Total T4, Free T4, TSH, Total T3 and Cortisol, (Free T3 - Non accredited)
4. HbA1c
5. Reproductive Hormones – LH, FSH, Prolactin, Testosterone, Total Beta HCG, Estradiol and Progesterone.
6. Biochemical Markers for Down’s screening – Alpha Fetoprotein, PAPPA and Free beta HCG.
7. Urine Chemistry – Urea, Creatinine, Calcium, Phosphorus, Uric acid, Sodium and Potassium.
8. Tumor Markers – AFP, Total Beta HCG and PSA(Total).
9. Urine (Microalbumin & Protein) - Microalbumin and Protein.
10. Trace Metal - Copper and Zinc.
11. Cardiac Marker - Troponin T, CK-MB Mass and Creatine Kinase.

The PT material is prepared from pooled plasma / whole blood (for A1c) negative for viral checks and obtained from blood bank of the institution.

PT material for Urine Chemistry is prepared from healthy voluntary donors from the laboratory.

The basic operation involves preparation of a master pool of human serum as per WHO recommended procedure, dispensing the correct volume into the vials and lyophilization. Homogeneity and stability checks are done as per the ISO 13528:2015 standards. The lyophilized vials are sealed, well packed in thick envelopes and distributed through courier service or postal service to all the participating laboratories.

Dispatch of PT material is done once in four months, during the 3rd week of April, August, and December. The laboratories are requested to reconstitute the correct PT item, analyze and enter the results in the website before the 20th of every month. Any amendments can be made only till the 25th of the month and it should be sent through an email only clearly mentioning the lab number and reason for amendment. Once the report is published on the net, no amendment can be made. Evaluation of the report is based on WHO and ISO 13528:2015 recommended expressions such as Robust mean for the assigned value and SDI (Z score) for individual parameters. Details on monthly report and the statistical tools are available on the monthly summary page. Evaluated monthly report is uploaded into the net by 1st Week of the following month.

Each laboratory is assigned a lab number and they are requested to secure the password.

The participants are requested not to share or discuss their results with other laboratories before the release of the report on the website.

After the completion of the cycle, the yearly summary is updated on the website for individual labs and certificates are sent to the eligible laboratories.

The CMC-EQAS providers maintain confidentiality of the participants’ demographics, results, reports, or any other information provided by them.

This scheme is fully run by the department of Clinical Biochemistry and none of the components are subcontracted.

The EQA program has created awareness among participants and proved to be a valuable exercise, with the number of laboratories steadily increasing every year.

The Chemistry I and II, Thyroid Hormones, Reproductive hormones, HbA1c, Biochemical Markers for Downs screening, Urine chemistry, Urine micro albumin and Protein, Cardiac markers, Trace metals and Tumor markers programs are accredited by NABL in accordance with the standard ISO/IEC 17043:2010. The participants are requested to contact us for any queries.

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