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Innovative Diagnostics Awarded Unprecedented Westgard Sigma Certification in Singapore

Innovative Diagnostics
2016-06-08 09:00 6396

SINGAPORE, June 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Putting patients at the heart of what they do - Innovative Diagnostics, a leading private pathology provider in Singapore, has received the Westgard Sigma certification, becoming the first medical institution in Singapore to be recognized by the Westgard Sigma Verification Program.

At the signing ceremony of the Westgard Sigma Certification. From left to right: Dr. James O. Westgard, Dr. Carol Kwan, Ms. Ginny Foo and Mr. Sten Westgard
At the signing ceremony of the Westgard Sigma Certification. From left to right: Dr. James O. Westgard, Dr. Carol Kwan, Ms. Ginny Foo and Mr. Sten Westgard

This verification serves as a confirmation that Innovative Diagnostics constantly delivers reliable results, allowing clinicians to make diagnoses and decisions with high confidence. With enhanced precision of laboratory results, the need for repeated tests is also reduced and this ultimately translates into timely diagnosis and intervention for patients.

Getting accurate laboratory test results right the first time can also ease the workload of busy healthcare professionals, who can better focus on devising treatment plans and providing quality care to their patients, and eventually optimize the resources of the healthcare system in Singapore.

"As a medically managed medical diagnostic laboratory, our focus is on quality of care to patients, and providing clinicians with laboratory test results that are trustworthy and accurate. The Westgard Sigma certification allows us to claim quality for what we do and take the lead in providing top-notch quality service to the hospitals and clinicians we work with," said Dr. Carol Kwan, Medical Director of Innovative Diagnostics.

"Westgard Sigma Verification Program provided us with a vital platform that would fill the gap between regulatory approval and laboratory accreditation, something that we are proud to achieve and set as a standard for labs in Singapore," Dr. Carol Kwan added.

Westgard Sigma Verification Performance program adopts an evidence-based, data-driven approach to quantify the quality being achieved by a laboratory. The requirements fill in the practical and technical gaps of today's current accreditation programs. Being awarded the Verification Certificate allows Innovative Diagnostics to differentiate themselves as a world class facility, rather than just a compliant one.

Ms. Ginny Foo, Chief Executive Officer of Innovative Diagnostics said, "Innovative Diagnostics strives to lead the way in healthcare excellence, and we are very proud and honored to have achieved this great milestone to be verified by Westgard. We are constantly investing into quality and will continue to do so in the years to come. We believe the verification demonstrates our commitment in raising the benchmark of quality standard in the medical laboratory industry, especially in the private healthcare sector in Singapore."

The Westgard Sigma Verification Program employs a Six Sigma Quality Management system in the laboratory that provides an objective and quantitative approach to guarantee that the analytical quality of test results is acceptable for their intended clinical use. Verification means that the laboratory has the right methods, the right staff, the right training, and most importantly, the right quality control implementation to ensure the timely and accurate reporting of test results.

Dr. James O. Westgard (second from the left), Mr. Sten Westgard (fifth from the left) and the team at Innovative Diagnostics.
Dr. James O. Westgard (second from the left), Mr. Sten Westgard (fifth from the left) and the team at Innovative Diagnostics.

"The Westgard Sigma Verification Program standardizes quality in the medical laboratory. It heightens quality management, inspires and ingrains the correct practices into the entire staff. Laboratory medicine plays a vital role in the decision-making of physicians as well as the kind of treatment to be administered so precision and quality of work are non-negotiable. We are confident that this will set a benchmark for other hospitals in Singapore to follow," said Dr. James O. Westgard, President of Westgard QC, Inc. Dr. Westgard added, "Innovative Diagnostics has been exceptional throughout the verification program and have shown great results during the test phase. They have surpassed many other laboratories we have worked with, in terms of adoption of this system in such a professional and timely fashion."

About Westgard Sigma Verification Program

The Westgard Sigma Verification Program encourages laboratories to define their own quality requirements for intended use and to evaluate their own performance relative to their goals for quality. It provides an evidence-based, data-driven approach to quantify the quality being achieved by a laboratory method as well as confirmation that the laboratory can routinely and consistently deliver that quality.

The program employs a Six Sigma Quality Management System in the laboratory that provides an objective and quantitative approach to guarantee that the analytical quality of test results is acceptable for their intended clinical use. This verification provides an assurance for the analytical quality of testing processes; the selection and validation of instrument systems; design of quality control procedures; standardization of quality control practices and proper monitoring and assessment of quality on the sigma scale. For more information, please visit http://www.westgard.com/westgard-sigma-vp.htm

About Innovative Diagnostics Pte Ltd

Innovative Diagnostics Pte Ltd is one of Singapore's leading private pathology providers. Established in January 1996 as a subsidiary of SingHealth, Innovative officially changed hands to a private consortium led by doctors and a group of industry veterans in June 2011. Innovative Diagnostics has achieved the international gold standard for laboratory excellence by successfully obtaining CAP accreditation in 2013 and reaccreditation again in 2015. Currently, Innovative Diagnostics services over 1000 clients across Singapore comprising of general practitioners (GP), medical specialists, medical clinics, private hospitals, corporate clients, insurance companies, third party administrators and not for profit groups. For more information, please visit www.innovativelab.com.sg.

Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20160607/8521603702-a
Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20160607/8521603702-b

Source: Innovative Diagnostics
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