Is harmonisation of performance assessment in non‑quantitative proficiency testing possible/necessary?

The importance of laboratory performance evaluation in qualitative and interpretative proficiency testing (PT) and external quality assessments (EQA) has increased significantly over recent years. Unfortunately, the relevant ISO standards provide limited guidance on how these assessments could be harmonised. In 2014, the Eurachem PT Working Group performed an initial survey on current practices applied by PT/EQA providers in these areas. This paper presents the results of this survey along with the findings of an extensive literature review on the subject extended to 2020. Both the survey results and the literature search show that, even though a majority of scoring systems are based on simple yes/no or absence/presence responses, multiple types of performance evaluation criteria are in use for qualitative and interpretative PT/EQA schemes. This represents a clear disadvantage compared to the more aligned approach in quantitative PT/EQA schemes since laboratory proficiency between schemes is not as easily comparable. The paper presents current practices and scoring systems grouped by categories with defined criteria and may serve as a basis for further discussion and investigation towards the harmonisation of performance evaluation in qualitative and interpretative PT/EQA schemes.

TIIKKAINEN Ulla;  CIARALLI Laura;  LAURENT Caroline;  OBKIRCHER Markus;  PATRIARCA Marina;  ROBOUCH Piotr;  SARKANY Erika; 

2023-05-19

SPRINGER

JRC128350

0949-1775 (online),   

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769-021-01492-6,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC128350,   

10.1007/s00769-021-01492-6 (online),