System and method for automatic quality control of clinical diagnostic processes

1. A computer-implemented method of providing automatic quality control of a clinical diagnostic process, comprising:

acquiring test data from one or more laboratory instruments;

analyzing said test data by applying a patient monitoring rule to said test data;

generating an internal alert signal when said test data exceeds a predetermined error threshold as calculated by said patient monitoring rule;

applying a confirmation rule to said test data in response to said internal alert signal; and

generating an operator alert signal if said confirmation rule confirms said internal alert signal as valid.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said applying a confirmation rule comprises:

identifying a laboratory instrument that produced a result exceeding said error threshold;

instructing said identified laboratory instrument to test a quality control specimen and to generate test results; and

applying event-related quality control rules to said generated test results.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of:

waiting for said generated test results.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said test data comprises patient data.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said patient monitoring rule comprises a Biometric Quality Control process, an EWMA rule, a CUSUM rule, or combinations thereof.

6. A computer-implemented method of providing automatic quality control of a clinical diagnostic process, comprising:

acquiring patient data from one or more laboratory diagnostic instruments;

applying a Biometric Quality Control process to said patient data;

generating an internal alert signal when said patient data exceeds an error level as determined by said Biometric Quality Control process; and

confirming a validity of said internal alert signal by automatically performing a quality control check.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein said automatically performing a quality control check comprises:

identifying a laboratory instrument that produced a result exceeding said error level;

initiating testing of a quality control specimen on said identified laboratory instrument;

waiting for results from said testing of a quality control specimen;

applying event-related quality control rules to said results to determine whether said instrument is operating within an expected tolerance; and

generating an operator alert signal if said instrument is not operating with said expected tolerance.

8. A computer-implemented method of providing automatic quality control of a clinical diagnostic process, comprising:

acquiring patient data from one or more laboratory clinical diagnostic instruments;

analyzing said patient data by applying a patient monitoring rule to said patient data;

automatically performing a test of a quality control specimen when said patient data exceeds a predetermined error level.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

generating an operator alert signal if said test of a quality control specimen indicates an out of tolerance condition.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein said patient monitoring rule comprises a Biometric Quality Control process.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein said automatically performing a test of a quality control specimen comprises:

identifying a laboratory clinical diagnostic instrument that produced a result exceeding said error level; and

performing an evaluation of a quality control specimen on said identified laboratory clinical diagnostic instrument.

12. A system for providing automatic quality control of a clinical diagnostic process, comprising:

one more laboratory instruments operable to acquire test data;

a computer system operable to communicate with and receive test data from said laboratory instruments, said computer system having a processor operable to:

apply a patient monitoring rule to said test data;

generate an internal alert signal when said test data exceeds a predetermined error threshold as calculated by said patient monitoring rule;

apply a confirmation rule to said test data in response to said internal alert signal; and

generate an external operator alert signal if said confirmation rule confirms said internal alert signal as valid.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein said applying a confirmation rule comprises:

identifying a specific laboratory instrument that produced a result exceeding said error threshold;

instructing said identified laboratory instrument to test a quality control specimen and to generate test results; and

applying event-related quality control rules to said generated test results.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein said patient monitoring rule comprises a Biometric Quality Control process, an EWMA rule, a CUSUM rule, or combinations thereof.

15. The system of claim 12 , wherein said external operator alert signal comprises a visible light, an audible sound, text on a display screen, an image on a display screen, or combinations thereof.

16. A system for providing automatic quality control of a clinical diagnostic process, comprising:

a computer system operable to communicate with and receive test data from one or more laboratory instruments, said computer system having a processor operable to:

apply a monitoring rule to said test data;

automatically instruct a laboratory instrument to perform a test of a quality control specimen when said data exceeds a predetermined error level.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein said processor is further operable to:

generate an operator alert signal if said automatic test of a quality control specimen indicates an out of tolerance condition.

18. The system of claim 16 , wherein said processor is further operable to:

apply event-related quality control rules to results of said test of a quality control specimen.

19. The system of claim 16 , wherein said monitoring rule comprises a Biometric Quality Control process.

20. A computer-implemented method of providing automatic quality control of a clinical diagnostic process, comprising:

acquiring test data from one or more laboratory instruments;

analyzing said test data by applying a quality control rule to said test data;

generating an internal alert signal when said test data exceeds a predetermined error threshold as calculated by said quality control rule;

applying a confirmation rule to said test data in response to said internal alert signal; and

generating an operator alert signal if said confirmation rule confirms said internal alert signal as valid.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein said applying a confirmation rule comprises:

identifying a laboratory instrument that produced a result exceeding said error threshold;

instructing said identified laboratory instrument to test a quality control specimen and to generate test results; and

applying event-related quality control rules to said generated test results.

22. The method of claim 20 , further comprising the step of:

waiting for said generated test results.

23. A computer-implemented method of providing automatic quality control of a clinical diagnostic process, comprising:

acquiring test data from one or more laboratory instruments;

analyzing said test data by applying a diagnostic rule to said test data;

generating an internal alert signal when said test data exceeds a predetermined error threshold as calculated by said diagnostic rule;

applying a confirmation rule to said test data in response to said internal alert signal; and

generating an operator alert signal if said confirmation rule confirms said internal alert signal as valid.

24. The method of claim 23 , wherein said applying a confirmation rule comprises:

identifying a laboratory instrument that produced a result exceeding said error threshold;

instructing said identified laboratory instrument to test a quality control specimen and to generate test results; and

applying event-related quality control rules to said generated test results.

25. The method of claim 23 , further comprising the step of:

waiting for said generated test results.