Scientists advise lab practitioners to embrace accreditation, exhibit expertise.

Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports

Nigerian private medical laboratory practitioners have been pushed to embrace accreditation in order to establish their technical proficiency, grow their businesses, and ensure patients’ safety in the twenty-first century.

Laboratory experts made the call during the 9th Scientific Conference and Annual General Conference, AGM, of the Guild of Medical Laboratory Directors of Nigeria, GMLD, Lagos State branch, saying there was a need for laboratory owners to conform to regulatory requirements to help them export medical laboratory services overseas.

Dr Donald Ofili, Director of MLSCN Accreditation Services, Medical Laboratory Council of Nigeria, said taking up accreditation will help the private sector boost their businesses and increase their finances in his keynote address, “Medical Laboratory Practice in the Twenty-First Century: Transformation to Accreditation.”

“The days of accreditation being voluntary are long gone.” Accreditation will soon become necessary since, in order to compete in the African market and with the African Free Trade Agreement, you must embrace accreditation.

“In order for a laboratory to be acknowledged across borders, it must be ISO15989 2012 accredited.” It is a necessity for medical laboratory quality and competence.”

According to him, accreditation assures that the results they produce are reliable and may be used for patient management, clinical decision-making, and policy-making.

“The days of simply picking data from any laboratory that is not registered and accredited are long gone.” When results have passed via an approved lab, it signifies they have been subjected to a quality management system. It passed through all of the stages within the lab’s status.”

Dr Elochukwu Adbo, National President of the Guild of Private Medical Laboratory of Nigeria, stated that accreditation is a critical component in building Nigeria’s quality infrastructure in 21st Medical Laboratory practice as well as transformation to accreditation.

According to Adibo, laboratories must follow regulations, and certification will let practitioners get involved in medical laboratory services exporting while also providing Nigerians with the medical treatment they deserve.

“As a vital aspect of healthcare delivery, medical laboratories are responsible for around 70% of decision-making in clinics, and clinicians rely on data and reports to make evidence-based decisions.”

We have over 4000 private laboratories; there is a process that you must be able to go through that is focused toward accreditation. We are encouraging every laboratory to follow that path. Laboratories should adopt international standards so that we may export medical laboratory services to other countries to save foreign cash,” he added.

Mr Adekoya Abimbola Julius, Chairman of the Guild of Medical Laboratory Directors of Nigeria, GMLD, Lagos Branch, stated that the GMID Logos is repositioning itself to meet the challenges of the future.

We are urging our members to take the initiative in order to meet the advances and technology that are taking center stage in the Medical Laboratory profession.

“We recognize that there is a cost to reaching this level, and knowledge and awareness are critical. It’s no surprise that the conference’s theme is “Medical Laboratory Practice in the Twenty-First Century: Transformation to Accreditation.”

Adekoya, who emphasized the importance of elevating the profession to the level of accreditation, added that another key issue was money or financial support, and that they had brought certain financial firms to the conference to explain how to overcome the financial barrier.

He urged the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria, MLSCN, and the Health Facilities Monitoring and Accreditation Agency, HEFAMAA, to conduct monitoring and inspections to encourage their members to improve in the standards required to practice, rather than to generate cash.

“I believe the laboratory will do better in this country if the government provides us with a friendly policy.”

Dr. Onyinwola Oni, Medical Director, NASO Medical Laboratory Services, said that ISO15189 compliance will enhance their practice and guarantee quality and accurate findings, as well as compete with other labs around the world. With accreditation, any test performed in Nigeria can be accepted in Ghana, South Africa, and other countries.