Guest Essay
Dr. Callum Fraser is recognized as the international expert on biologic variation. His new book from the AACC press: Biologic Variation: Principles and Practice is now the definitive reference on the subject. Luckily, Dr. Fraser has let us post the Foreword to this book on our website.
Which improvements should be made first? Unfortunately, we seem to be arguing that some errors are more important (i.e. worse) than others. But rather than make a Chicken-or-Egg choice, David Plaut, Dr. Westgard, and Sten Westgard urge an analysis of these types of errors. The answer to the question of which improvements come first need not be "pre" or "post" or "analytical" - it should be "all three at once."
CLIA, JCAHO, CAP, CMMS....This festival of acronyms can only mean one thing: Dr. Sharon Ehrmeyer, our highly esteemed and frequent contributor, is updating us on the latest in quality regulations. See the latest rules you need to know.
Dr. Carmen Ricos and her colleagues have provided us with an update to their 2000 Biological Variation Database. New analytes have been added, figures have been updated and in some cases, corrected. This article summarizes all the changes made to the desirable specifications for total error, bias, and imprecision (derived from biological variation) for hundreds of analytes.
Callum G. Fraser, Ph.D., the noted expert on biologic variation, takes an in-depth look at new guidelines for hsCRP. While the AHA/CDC has produced a scientific statement, sadly, he finds they have not found the scientific truth.