In an interview with Talking A, Fernando Berlitz shared details about the scientific session he led at the ADLM 2024 conference, held in July in Chicago.
Organized by the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM), the conference attracted over 18,000 participants from around the world and featured 250 educational sessions, covering a wide range of topics relevant to health and laboratory medicine.
In the most recent Talking A, Fernando Berlitz, accreditation and indicators manager at Controllab, highlighted his participation in the scientific session “International Quality Indicators: Experiences, Opportunities, and Challenges.” He presented Controllab’s pioneering work in comparative analysis of laboratory indicators, emphasizing the nearly two-decade evolution of Metricare (formerly PBIL). Today, Metricare stands out as the largest global laboratory benchmarking platform, both in the number of participants and the diversity of indicators.
Scientific Session
The discussion was moderated by Dr. Vincent De Guire, a Canadian biochemist and one of the leaders of the Laboratory Errors and Patient Safety (WG-LEPS) from the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC).
During the interview, Berlitz emphasized that the session’s proposal was based on the presentation of consolidated benchmarking initiatives with concrete results validated by the IFCC. According to him, the approval of the topic by ADLM’s scientific committee reflects the relevance and applicability of these topics for laboratories in the current context.
Berlitz commented: “We are in an era of evidence-based medicine and big data, where a vast amount of data is circulating in health operations. It is increasingly essential for us to empower ourselves to know how to use this data effectively, generating improvements for both healthcare organizations and patients. We are being held to higher standards to be more efficient and create value with fewer resources. Therefore, data is crucial for identifying where to prioritize investments and ensuring they bring real value to organizations.”
The scientific session addressed the Brazilian experience in comparative management of indicators, providing a rich exchange of knowledge and practices among participants. Berlitz mentioned RDC 786/2023 as an essential legal milestone for the practice of indicator management in Brazil and emphasized the importance of data integration through laboratory information systems (LIS), which ensure data security and increase laboratory efficiency by reducing the effort required for data collection, processing, and submission.
Other topics discussed included the Brazil-Canada pilot for the IFCC, the initial results of the microbiology indicators project, and indicators related to the communication of laboratory errors, highlighting the commitment to continuous improvement of laboratory service quality and patient safety.
The Future of indicators
Berlitz highlighted the importance of knowledge exchange at international events for Brazilian laboratories. In addition to Controllab’s scientific session, other initiatives at the conference emphasized the growing role of indicator management.
The event addressed environmental sustainability in laboratories, aligned with the LEAN approach to minimize waste. This theme is directly related to the development of ESG indicators (Environmental, Social, and Governance) on the Metricare platform, which aims not only to reduce waste but also to integrate socio-environmental and governance aspects into the financial results of laboratories.
Scientific presentations (posters) also explored studies on indices related to resistance in surveillance cultures, errors in the pre-analytical phase, and communication of critical results to patients.
Berlitz announced that many of the approaches discussed at ADLM are already being incorporated into the Metricare platform, which continues to evolve to provide advanced tools for optimizing laboratory process management and benchmarking.
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