On Thursday, February 2, 2023, in Nicosia, the Cyprus Standards Organization (CYS) held an informative workshop entitled "Clinical Laboratory Accreditation Standard - The New Version of CYS EN ISO 15189 Medical (Clinical) Laboratories: Quality & Competence Requirements", which aimed to inform all stakeholders about the basic requirements of the new version of the standard and the changes it includes compared to the previous version.
The workshop was held under the auspices of the Minister of Health Mr. Michael Hadjipandela, who was represented by the First Health Officer Dr. Olga Kalakouta, and gave a welcome address at its opening. The Director General of CYS Ms Athina Panayiotou and Mr. Antonis Ioannou, Director of the Cyprus Quality Promotion Organisation (CQPO), who as the National Accreditation Body supported the event, also addressed the conference.
The welcoming remarks were followed by a short presentation by Ms Elena Demosthenous, CYS Officer responsible for the health sector, on the activities of CYS in the health sector, the standards directly related to the operation of clinical laboratories, as well as the ways of participation of public and private bodies in European and international standardization.
The main speaker at the workshop was CYS partner Mr. Dimitrios Katsieris, Foreign Director at the American Accreditation Service (IAS) and Chief Assessor for a large number of accreditation schemes, with active participation in the work of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and many years of experience in assessments and trainings based on European and international laboratory accreditation standards. Mr. Katsieris made an extensive reference to the changes included in the new version of the standard, the three-year transition period from the previous to the new version, and the importance given in the new version to critical issues such as risk management and patient focus. The workshop was attended by about 120 clinical laboratory managers from the private and public sector, Clinical Laboratory Quality Management Officers and Quality Managers, Clinical Laboratory Quality Management Systems Consultants, Assessors from the National Accreditation Body and representatives of clinical laboratory associations and competent authorities.
(MB/EXP)
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