Proficiency Testing is a laboratory comparison where many laboratories test or calibrate uniform samples and where results are subsequently compared and treated statistically.
Proficiency testing is a measurement or testing assignment carried out by several laboratories independently, the results obtained by one laboratory are compared with the results obtained by other laboratories which is common in most Proficiency Testing Schemes.
The goal is to determine the performance of the participants under the same general conditions.
This approach gives the laboratories the opportunity to demonstrate their competence for testing.
Proficiency testing is an important element in the quality assurance at laboratories and can be used to determine the effectiveness and the comparability of the test or measurement methods and to identify problems in laboratory quality management.
Participation in proficiency tests such as interlaboratory comparisons provides laboratories with valuable insights into their performance and the reliability of their analysis results. Accredited proficiency testing providers have demonstrated that they have performed the interlaboratory comparisons in accordance with the requirements of ISO/IEC 17043
The evaluation of the performances of a testing, medical or calibration lab is a periodical, objective, independent and documented verification of the quality of the analyses routinely carried out.
