To quote Dr. James Westgard (University of Wisconsin and President of Westgard QC Inc.), “Quality is like safety – an important issue, but not a readily marketable feature”. However, if your business is interested in quality management, perhaps for ISO certification, or because you are entering into a manufacturing agreement with a CSO, Dr. Westgard’s website, Westgard QC, contains some very interesting articles and valuable resources.

Free access to articles with titles such as “The Do’s and Don’ts of Quality Control”, “Quality by Design” and “What’s Wrong with Traditional QC?” can be found, in addition to online courses in quality control that qualify for PACE and ACCENT credits, a number of books penned by Dr. Westgard, QC computer software, training videos and more. Also check out the site for info on a workshop on Quality Control 2008: Final Rules, Emerging Guidelines, Evolving Practices, to explain the latest CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments) regulations, CLSI (Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute) guidelines and more, coming to Wisconsin in early June 2008.

_Sources:

Westgard, J. 2000. The DO’s and DON’Ts of Quality Control: Implications for future QC technology. http://www.westgard.com/essay27.htm.