glucometer qc within 6 months

We are CAP accredited and I do not know of any CAP standard that states the 6 in 6 for each user.  We use RALS Web 3 as a Point of Care interface, and require all users to perform QC at least once per year as part of overall continuing education.  We have users set up in RALS for operator access in year long increments.  I have a rule set up in RALS that when a user is close to the cut-off date and a QC test has been run, they are recertified for another year.  This has worked very well.

Max,

Sorry I meant to say, QC within the 6 month period and not 6 in 6. Please show me how to set that rule up in RALS. We too are CAP accredited and use RALS. However, we do send out assessment checklists to the users that they  need to sign before they get access and I feel that if I set this rule up, I might miss emailing them this checklist that we require.

Thank you so much,

Michelle

We have been CAP-accredited for many years and I am also not familiar with any CAP requirement for QC to be run by each user within 6 months.  As a CLIA-waived test, even CAP competency assessment guidelines do not REQUIRE that your all users do QC - it can be something that you use to assess competency, but it is not required - as it is for a non-waived test.  I also require that my users do QC at least with initial training and then once annually thereafter, but it is above and beyond the requirements - as I also use a online learning module.  For a waived test, you only need 2 of the 6 methods of assessing competency.

I wonder if the question about QC requirement for gluc done every six months relates back to the Data Management System called PWEB (QCM3) which had an option to force users to perform one set of liquid quality control every six months.  This could be tracked through the PWEB and provided documentation of the performance of QC required for annual training if that was one of the parameters selected to satisfy regulatory agencies.

I didn't think PWEB can be set to force an operator to do QC within a certain time period.  It can be set to automatically recertify the operator if QC is done, but it can't prompt them to do it.  At least not to my knowledge.  That WAS a feature of the old J&J meters.  As soon as a user would log-in, you could configure the meter to force them to do QC if they hadn't done it in XXmonths.  Problem was, it would ask them to do that on EVERY meter they logged into...so you ended up with a lot of unnecessary QC...but perfect competency records!

How often would a user need to run qc in a year to stay competent? or would once a year on their next competency assessement be sufficient.

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We do a Recertification QC at 6 mos. for the 1st year and annually there after.  We have Inform ll. We set the lock out on new hires at 6 mo.  This helps with turn over and if they move to other locations, in or after the 6 mo. period.  Annually they have to do a direct observation QC as part of their annual competency. I have set up recertification codes and the process is programed through our RALS/Alere system.

We send a competency checklist to the on floor preceptor for each new hire as part of initial education that includes a web in-service and quiz.  Then annually the operators need to perform an annual QC and an annual web quiz.  In RALS the pathway to recertify operators who have performed a QC test is:

 Operators --> Recertification, here you can edit your parameters to make your rule

Then to recertify:

Operators-->Recertification-->Recertify 

Thank you, Max!!

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