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On May 28-29, 2009, a number of medical laboratory opinion leaders, pathologists and biochemists met in Sitges, Spain to discuss issues of interest to medical laboratory professionals. The meeting was sponsored by Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. (Hercules, CA). Over 40 persons representing Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and the US participated in the 1.5 days meeting. The intended purpose of the convocation was to give medical laboratory professionals from different countries and backgrounds an opportunity to share ideas, concerns and experiences in five areas of interest of the sponsor. These areas of interest included: * a requirement for medical laboratory accreditation across Europe * uncertainty of measurement in a clinical laboratory setting * application of Six Sigma values to characterize laboratory quality * effects of analytical errors on patient care and outcomes * harmonization of allowable total error (TEa) specifications The convocation began with a keynote speech by Dr. James Westgard on "Managing quality vs. measuring uncertainty in the medical laboratory". Dr. Westgard's presentation was thought provoking and called into question the utility and practicality of using uncertainty in a medical laboratory setting. This journal contains a companion article written by Dr. Westgard on this topic. After the keynote speech, the meeting adjourned into five discussion groups and reconvened the next day to hear the outcomes of the discussions by each of the working groups. This article provides a synopsis of the reports from each working group.

ISO/IEC 17799 is a standard governing Information Security Management. Formalised in the 1990s, it has not seen the take up of accreditations that could be expected from looking at accreditation figures for other standards such as the ISO 9000 series. This paper examines why this may be the case by investigating what has driven the accreditation under the standard in 18 UK companies, representing a fifth of companies accredited at the time of the research. An initial literature review suggests that adoption could be driven by external pressures, or simply an objective of improving operational performance and competitive performance. It points to the need to investigate the influence of Regulators and Legislators, Competitors, Trading Partners and Internal Stakeholders on the decision to seek accreditation.

Several interesting developments are taking place in general practice in France. One of the new elements contributing to change is quality assurance. The Norwegian author spent the academic year 1997-98 in Paris, working one day a week at the State Agency ANAES (Agence Nationale d'Accreditation et d'Evaluation en Sante - National Agency for Accreditation and Evaluation in Health). General practitioners working part time in the ANAES Department of Liberal Medicine are currently organising regional networks of GPs throughout the country to coordinate quality assurance activities. GPs are also involved in the agency's production of clinical guidelines. In addition to ANAES, several GP organisations are active in different aspects of quality development. The article looks at quality assurance as part of a new and more important role of general practice within the French health system, with some reference to simultaneous developments in Northern Europe.

Summary APS has requested that all colleges establish a path to membership that is an alternative to completing only college approved degrees. The 1984 APS Board of Clinical Psychologists Regulations for Examination (Bulletin of the Australian Psychological Society, October 1984,pp 18–24) provides a good framework upon which to reinstate the College of Clinical Psychologists own examinations. These examinations are divided into two parts: Part 1 comprises written papers testing academic and research knowledge pertinent to clinical practice. Candidates with appropriate academic backgrounds could be exempted from this part. This would include all those who had successfully completed a College approved course in clinical psychology but possibly other applicants, such as certain overseas applicants and students completing a APS accredited masters or doctoral course that contained a significant amount of clinical information. Part 2, or sections of Part 2, which directly assesses clinical skills would be under...

Objective To address the value of Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties (BPS) certification, particularly as perceived by different stakeholders (pharmacists, employers, government, and academia), and to draw a parallel between specialization and certification in pharmacy and in medicine. Data Sources Electronic databases (Medline, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts), associations/health care organizations Web sites, outside reports, and clinical pharmacists involved in certification processes. Study Selection Studies and reports that addressed the value of specialty certification were selected by the authors. Data Extraction By the authors. Data Synthesis Pharmacists with specialty certification report enhanced feelings of self-worth, improved competence, and greater marketability. Other values of certification include increased acceptance by health care professionals, salary increases, and job promotions. Employers have acknowledged board-certified pharmacists through public recognition, increase in responsibility, and some types of monetary compensation. In some governmental organizations, certified pharmacists receive salary raises and are granted prescribing authority. However, the overall value of specialty certification in pharmacy as perceived by the public or payers lags behind when compared with the status of specialty certification in medicine. Conclusion Board-certified pharmacists appreciate the value of pharmacy specialty certification, and in a number of organizations and practice settings, board-certified pharmacists are perceived as valuable. Still, unlike board-certified physicians, board-certified pharmacists are not widely recognized outside or even within the pharmacy profession. To address this challenge, board-certified pharmacists ought to market their services to assure that other stakeholders recognize their value.

Computerizing an organization's policies and guidelines is difficult but rewarding. The assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation of converting all paper policies and procedures into a computerized system are outlined, with particular focus on organizing guidelines according to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization's (JCAHO) functional standards.

WFME has recently decided to extend its 'International Collaborative Programme for the Reorientation of Medical Education', aiming at the implementation of its educational policy at the institutional level. The first objective is to stimulate educational institutions to formulate their own plans for change and for quality improvement to align with international standards. The second objective is to establish a system to assure minimum quality standards for medical school programmes. Both objectives can be accomplished by publishing a World Register of Medical School, which will constitute an instrument of quality assurance in medical education. The Register should specify designation of a World Register Accreditation of medical schools, which fulfil internationally accepted and approved standards of medical education programmes. The accreditation could be differentiated in various categories.