State public health laboratory system quality improvement activities.

The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) and the APHL Laboratory Systems and Standards Committee manage the Laboratory System Improvement Program (L-SIP). One component of L-SIP is an assessment that allows the members and stakeholders of a laboratory system to have an open and honest discussion about the laboratory system's strengths and weaknesses. From these facilitated discussions, gaps and opportunities for improvement are identified. In some cases, ideas for how to best address these gaps emerge, and workgroups are formed. Depending on resources, both monetary and personnel, laboratory staff will then prioritize the next component of L-SIP: which quality improvement activities to undertake. This article describes a sample of quality improvement activities initiated by several public health laboratories after they conducted L-SIP assessments. These projects can result in more robust linkages between system entities, which can translate into improvements in the way the system addresses the needs of stakeholders.