Microbiology examination laboratories can play a vital role in protecting people’s health. This means that if errors occur in a laboratory then the impact can have serious public health implications.

External quality assessment (EQA)/proficiency testing (PT) allows the introduction of samples of known but undisclosed content into a laboratory’s routine testing procedure:

The benefits of EQA/PT are:

• Provides staff with an insight into their laboratory's performance
• Provides a comparison of performance with that of other laboratories, nationally and/or internationally
• Improves the standard of examinations
• Identifies areas where there may be problems
• Demonstrates to clients, colleagues and accreditation bodies that there is a commitment to quality
• Educates staff, providing a better understanding of the impact of incorrect results