Director General (DG) Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC) Anjum Bashir has said that Lab Assessor Course will create a pool of technical experts and build indigenous capacity to prepare state-of-the-art medical labs.
While speaking at the closing ceremony of the "5-day Lab Assessor Course based on ISO-15189" an International standard for medical labs here on Wednesday Anjum Bashir said that preparation of the medical labs in accordance with the International standards in compliance with the requirements of ISO-15189 will help produce valid results. He said that medical practitioners make decisions on the basis of test results produced by labs, as these decisions play a pivotal role for patient's health.
"It is in the interest of the patients, doctors, society and the government that the medical laboratories operate at highest standards of professional and technical competence. The process of accreditation, involves periodic review of labs through professional assessments in accordance with the International standards," he added.
Anjum Bashir said that PNAC adopts international standard and guidelines in assessment of such labs through qualified and appropriately trained professionals in their relevant discipline, adding that PNAC has made efforts to create awareness among the labs and other stakeholders about the importance of accreditation. As a result, PNAC has accredited 49 testing and calibration labs, 3 certification bodies and 2 inspection bodies, whereas cases of 06 medical labs are near accreditation.
"Maintaining the desired level of competence at accredited labs as well as at the level of PNAC is essential because the peer evaluation team of relevant regional and international agencies critically look into conduct of these bodies before accepting PNAC as Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) member," the Director General added.
Anjum Bashir said that PNAC has achieved MRA with International Lab Accreditation Co-operation (ILAC) and Asia Pacific Lab Accreditation Co-operation (APLAC), which confirms its equivalent status with accreditation bodies of North America, European Union and far eastern countries for acceptance of test reports from PNAC accredited Labs.-PR