Laboratory medicine in Palestine
Date
2018-12-05
Authors
Abu Seir, Rania
Najjar, Osama
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Abstract
Background
Laboratory Medicine (LM) is one of the cornerstones
of healthcare. In Palestine, 3.5% of health expenditure
is allocated to clinical laboratories.
Methodology
The Palestinian Ministry of Health (MOH) started to
invest in the development and expansion of laboratory
services including the introduction of full automation
in blood banks and histopathology, molecular
testing in microbiology, and testing for autoimmune
diseases and metabolic disorders. Improvements
have not been limited to new tests but also included
external quality assurance (EQA) and accreditation
programs.
Results
Latest investments have cut the costs of purchasing
tests from outside MOH by more than 3.6 million
dollars during the last five years. Al-Quds University
established a Center for External Quality Control in
LM which was supported by the Palestinian MOH
and the National Metrology Institute of Germany.
This has led to a significant improvement in the performance
of the affiliated laboratories. An accreditation
unit was established within the MOH, yet the number of laboratories that have been accredited
with ISO-15189 are still limited but significantly
increasing.
The academic institutions have been working
in parallel to the MOH in improving LM in
Palestine. A new academic curriculum for LM
has been developed according to the quality
standards of curricula-based competencies determined
by the needs of the labor market and
the emerging technologies.
Conclusions
Despite the invested efforts, still, the Palestinian
LM suffers from shortage of human resources
which are qualified in the new emerging diagnostic
approaches.
Description
Keywords
Palestine , accreditation , molecular testing , quality assurance