The Individualized Quality Control Plan—Coming Soon to Clinical Microbiology Laboratories Everywhere!

As of 1 January 2016, microbiology laboratories can choose to adopt a new quality control option, the Individualized Quality Control Plan (IQCP), under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA). This voluntary approach increases flexibility for meeting regulatory requirements and provides laboratories the opportunity to customize QC for testing in their unique environments and with their testing personnel. IQCP is an all-inclusive approach to quality based on risk management to address potential errors in the total testing process. It includes three main steps: (i) performing a risk assessment, (ii) developing a QC plan, and (iii) monitoring the plan through quality assessment. Resources are available from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Society for Microbiology, Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, and accrediting organizations, such as the College of American Pathologists and Joint Commission, to assist microbiology laboratories implementing IQCP.