Proficiency testing in parasitology. An educational tool to improve laboratory performance.

In 1977, the Laboratory Proficiency Testing Program began testing laboratories that examine samples for gastrointestinal parasites and operated with little change in the subsequent 17 years. Four surveys, each containing four samples, are distributed each year to every currently licensed medical laboratory in Ontario. Participation is mandatory. Survey results indicate a remarkable improvement in laboratory performance during this period. Improvement is believed to result from a combination of the voluntary withdrawal from testing by laboratories with poor performance and the improved performance of the others. The extensive educational services devised and carried out by the Parasitology Committee is believed to have been a significant factor leading to this improvement.