A large-scale survey on the knowledge, attitude, and practice of patient-based real-time quality control in China

Patient-based real-time quality control (PBRTQC) plays a promising role in monitoring the quality of medical laboratory testing processes worldwide. In contrast with traditional quality control, PBRTQC demonstrates numerous advantages, but the application status remains unclear. This study was conducted to assess the awareness and intention to apply PBRTQC in laboratories through a survey, providing a basis for subsequent research and promotion.

A questionnaire was constructed and extended on the basis of Badrick's fifteen core questions in 2023, which were distributed via the Star questionnaire platform to collect general information on relevant personnel, their cognition, attitude and practice of PBRTQC as well as their willingness to implement it. This survey was carried out in different kinds of clinical laboratories throughout the mainland area of China.

A total of 1,844 valid questionnaires were collected. The survey showed that the average awareness rate of basic knowledge of PBRTQC among laboratory staff was above 50%, and their confidence in establishing and applying PBRTQC in their laboratories was relatively low. However, they recognized the role of PBRTQC in improving quality management. Among the existing PBRTQC related practices, reading literature was the most common. The main concerns for promoting PBRTQC included professional implementation guidelines and policy support, reliable commercial evaluations, software and hardware support, and usage training.

The results of our study demonstrate that laboratory staff recognize the value of PBRTQC and have a generally positive attitude towards its application. In the future, efforts should be made to strengthen the formulation of standardized documents, improve evaluation methods, develop software and hardware, popularize knowledge, and provide technical training to promote the application of PBRTQC.