[Past, present and future of external quality assessment of medical laboratory testing in Japan]

In Japan, three major bodies have conducted external quality surveillance of medical laboratory performance: the Japan Medical Association, the Japan Association of Medical Technologists, and the Japan Society of Registered Medical Laboratories. Although these systems are working very well to elevate the quality of laboratory tests, each has adopted its own surveillance system with little communication. All of these surveillance systems have problems in the evaluation of laboratory proficiency. Thus, the 3 bodies should be unified first to establish an efficient National External Quality Assurance Scheme. New IT technology should also be introduced into the system in the future.