|
Sci Tech
HIV testing: accrediting laboratories
R. PRASAD
|
Private laboratories in Coimbatore and Tiruchi will be accredited from early next year
|
Accreditation provides the seal of reliability and credibility Tamil Nadu started providing free test kits to 25 laboratories about a month ago
Revathy did not want to be seen at the voluntary counselling and testing centre (VCTC). So she opted to get herself tested at a private laboratory. The test result confirmed her worst fear. She was infected with HIV. But a test at another laboratory showed that she was not infected.
Ramesh wanted to rule out HIV infection but did not know at which private laboratory he should get himself tested.
Though Revathy and Ramesh are fictitious characters, there are indeed many people who find themselves in similar situations. After all, it is not mandatory for private clinics to follow any particular protocol or standardise the testing procedures for HIV testing.
That was precisely the reason why the Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society (TNSACS) wanted to accredit private laboratories. Laboratories can currently get themselves accredited by the Delhi based National Accreditation Board for testing and Certification (NABL). Many big laboratories in Chennai already have such accreditation. Not so in the case of smaller laboratories in other places.
“We found that no unique protocol was followed by all private laboratories. They also wanted to learn,” said Supriya Sahu, Project Director, TNSACS. The result is that the State body has got actively involved as it is concerned about the lack of a standard and reliable methodology followed by private laboratories.
The TNSACS started the accreditation process in Madurai in April this year. Initially 30 laboratories were chosen and it took them 2-3 months to complete the process. It was started on a pilot scale.
Encouraging response
“The response was very encouraging. So we extended it to another 30 laboratories,” said Sahu. Unlike the pilot project, the second round of accreditation did not take much time.
But why was Madurai chosen for pilot testing the project? “It has high prevalence of HIV as it covers Namakkal, Karur, Theni, the hub of the infection,” explained Ms. Sahu.
The TNSACS now has plans to extend this accreditation process to other cities such as Coimbatore and Tiruchi. “We intend to start the second phase to cover other cities by the end of January. We will start with Coimbatore in January,” she noted. The State body is yet to work out the number of laboratories to accredit in these cities.
Much as laboratories accredited by NABL come under NABL’s external quality checks, laboratories accredited by TNSACS come under the State body’s external quality check programme.
“They are required to provide slides of all positive results and 5 per cent of negative results to the State reference laboratories,” said Ms. Sahu. There are six reference laboratories in the State. Accreditation is valid for a year. According to Dr. Anita Suryanarayan, Chief of Laboratory Services, Lister Metropolis, Chennai, the NABL accredited laboratories are checked for many factors right from the moment a person walks in till the stage when the report is handed out.
Retesting if positive
“If positive, we must retest [the sample] using another methodology or a different kit if the same methodology is used,” explained Dr. Suryanarayan. Patients are also advised to confirm their positive status through a Western Blot test.
But for all the efforts to get themselves audited by TNSACS, the private laboratories stand to gain much. It gives them the seal of reliability and credibility. People like Ramesh would find it less of a hassle to choose the laboratory where they can get themselves tested.
In a bid to standardise quality in private laboratories accredited by TNSACS, the State body started providing free test kits to 25 laboratories about a month ago.
While standardising the quality is the prime objective behind providing the test kits, the reason for giving it away free is to make sure that HIV testing is affordable by many people. “The condition is they charge only Rs.75,” said Ms. Sahu.
Plans are on to provide the test kits free to all the 60 accredited laboratories if the number of people who get themselves tested increases in these 25 laboratories.
Elaborating on the issue further she said that making HIV testing affordable was the core idea. “There are many who can’t pay more but want to enjoy confidentiality. So by providing free test kits we can make sure HIV testing becomes affordable,” she said.
At the end of the day, the central idea is to remove all obstacles that stand in the way of people getting themselves tested. After all, knowing one’s status early on will go a long way in delaying the onset of AIDS.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Sci Tech
|
