External Quality Assurance

The UK has a good record of providing a quality pathology service and much of this is due to the pioneering work done in the 1960s and 1970s in clinical biochemistry, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Security (as it was then known). However, in spite of the maturity of our external quality assessment (EQA) system, there are still too many misconceptions about almost every aspect of EQA, which limit further progress and improvement in quality. This article seeks to clarify the purpose and objectives of EQA in the UK and point the way forward