Defining analytical performance specifications 15 years after the Stockholm conference

The European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EFLM) has as part of its mission "to be the leading organization of Laboratory Medicine in Europe." Through leadership, the EFLM strives to enhance patient care and improve outcomes by promoting and improving the scientific, professional and clinical aspects of laboratory medicine. To focus on important aspects in laboratory medicine in which some strategic actions and measures should be taken, the EFLM decided to start a biannual series of conferences. The first edition was held in Milan, Italy, on November 2014. The conference was entitled "Defining analytical performance goals 15 years after the Stockholm conference" as it was considered timely to address the topic of performance specifications both because it was a long time since it was previously addressed and because performance specifications are central for the clinical application of test measurements and are also of vital importance for quality control measures that should be taken in the laboratories. The conference, organized in cooperation with the Centre for Metrological Traceability in Laboratory Medicine (CIRME) of the University of Milan and the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) of the European Commission-Joint Research Centre, was very successful, with 215 participants from 41 different countries, embracing the five continents