The Austrian Association for Quality Assurance and Standardization of Medical and Diagnostic Tests (ÖQUASTA) is a non-profit association, with the following objectives:
Promoting the improvement and standardization of medical and diagnostic testing methods, as required by science and research and by health authorities.
Promoting healthcare to the extent that it regards an improvement in quality assurance and standardization of medical and diagnostic tests as its non-profit mission for the public good.
Promoting the standardization of medical terms, methods and measuring units in laboratory diagnostics in order to facilitate standard linguistic communications between doctors and partners, which improves the diagnosis and specification of therapies in medicine in the interest of patients and makes results of scientific works comparable.
In order to achieve these association objectives, ÖQUASTA provides external quality assessments and advanced training sessions.
external quality assessments
The ÖQUASTA external quality assessments - currently approx. three hundred analytes in around 30 round robin test programs - largely cover the whole range of current medical and diagnostic laboratory tests. The external quality assessment programs are supervised by competent experts (survey managers) and appropriate control samples are used.
External quality assurance schemes are carried out according tot he standard ISO 17043:2010; the determination oft he assigned values follows the standard ISO 13528:2015.
Only qualified technical items of equipment and appropriate software products are used in conducting the external quality assessments. The competence of ÖQUASTA employees is guaranteed by careful induction training and continual advanced training.
training sessions
Advanced training sessions on current issues in medical and chemical laboratory diagnostics are held by ÖQUASTA at least once a year.
Recognized experts are selected as lecturers and discussion partners for advanced training sessions.
Members and/or “clients”
Members and/or “clients” of ÖQUASTA are doctors, lab professionals, institutions and IVD manufacturers involved in external quality assessments and advanced training sessions.
Executive Board
The Executive Board of ÖQUASTA undertakes, on behalf of itself and all employees, to ensure the quality of services for participants and other interested parties.
employees
All employees are familiar with QM system requirements according to standard ISO 17043 and implement such requirements in their jobs. This serves to assure the quality of individual surveys, to respond to feedback from external quality assessment participants and other interested parties and improve all processes. Continual improvement of ÖQUASTA operations is thereby guaranteed.
Fulfilling the requirements of participants in the external quality assessments and statutory and official specifications forms an essential component of the Executive Board’s strategic work and the operational activity of ÖQUASTA employees.