Biomedical Science Congress: highlights from laboratory accreditation to virology

The thirteenth biennial IBMS Congress scientific programme illustrated the diverse and evolving nature of specialties that comprise biomedical science and laboratory medicine. Reproduced here are selected summaries from lectures given on the laboratory accreditation, medical microbiology, molecular pathology, point-of-care testing, transfusion science, veterinary and virology programmes.

Handling extensions to scope and flexible scopes

The vast majority of medical laboratories in the UK are now accredited to ISO 15189:2012. Tasks that laboratories face have changed from attaining accreditation to managing, maintaining and in many instances changing or extending their accredited scope. Schedules of accreditation published by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) are definitive sources of information for current and potential service users looking to confirm whether or not testing they require is accredited. Changes and developments in pathology often mean changes to testing repertoires are necessary to improve patient care. It is essential that laboratories work with UKAS to manage their accreditation, ensuring this testing is of the desired quality, and assured to be so.