title: Past, present, future: a continuous cycle of improvement for ancillary glucose testing.
abstract: As the demand for more rapid testing continues, the laboratory must take a proactive stance in needs assessment and program implementation to meet quality patient care guidelines and regulations for ancillary testing. This 256-bed hospital had a very conventional ancillary testing history. The deficiencies identified in the program by inspection criteria and the concerns of the medical staff created a focus for a laboratory/nursing/medical staff quality improvement team. The Ancillary Glucose Testing Program redeveloped by the team offers a model for active needs assessment, participation, quality assurance, ongoing improvement, and laboratory/nursing cooperation that can be applied to any ancillary testing program.
authors.affiliation: Columbia Largo Medical Center Hospital, FL, USA.
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Connelly
mesh_terms: D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis*; D005431:Florida; D005568:Forms and Records Control; D006744:Hospital Bed Capacity, 100 to 299; D006801:Humans; D007755:Laboratories, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D008499:Medical Records; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems / Q000458:organization & administration; D017064:Process Assessment, Health Care; D011786:Quality Control; D017749:Total Quality Management