Development of an International Directory of Reference Methods and Reference Materials

Laboratorians have a need for a resource document that includes citations for definitive methods, reference methods and materials, and related information. In preparation for the IFCC meeting on Reference Materials and Reference Measurement Systems in Laboratory Medicine held in Geneva in October 1994, a Working Group recommended that such a sourcebook be made internationally available and that it meet the criteria embodied in Working Group recommendations. It was proposed that this sourcebook be based on the Sourcebook of Reference Methods, Materials, and Related Information for the Clinical Laboratory: Proposed Guideline, NCCLS Publication NRSCL 12-P. This paper contains the Working Group recommendations, an NCCLS proposal presented in Geneva for preparation of an international sourcebook, a summary of the discussions and meeting Steering Group request from Geneva, and the NCCLS responses to the Steering Group request.