19 Medical Laboratories Designated for 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Have Obtained Accreditation to ISO 15189

    A ceremony is held on July 11, 2008 in Beijing to grant accreditation to medical laboratories designated for 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. 19 medical laboratories have obtained accreditation from China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS), including laboratories of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Beijing Hospital, Beijing Union Hospital, etc.

    Medical examination is not aimed for trade. With the trend of globalization and the development of convenient transportation facilities, people travel more frequently nowadays, which leads to the need of consistent and standardized medical service including medical examination.

With the aim to improve the quality, competency and safety of the medical laboratories in Beijing area, to facilitate the mutual recognition of the examination results of various medical laboratories, and to provide the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games with good quality of medical service, Beijing Municipal Health Bureau of China and CNAS initiated the National Accreditation Program for Beijing Medical Laboratories Designated for 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in April 2007.

    The accreditation program for medical laboratories designated for 2008 Beijing Olympic Games is successfully fulfilled, which is a demonstration of the good quality and competency of these medical laboratories to all foreign friends from all over the world, showing that they can get internationally recognized medical examination service in Beijing. Laboratory accreditation can build up a bridge for establishing and delivering trust, can serve as the platform for the already implemented policy of “one examination report, accepted everywhere” in Beijing.

    The cooperation between Beijing Municipal Health Bureau and CNAS is a very successful example for establishing a model of administration which using the laboratory accreditation results, and which is highly praised by all societies. Beijing Municipal Health Bureau takes the advantage of their leading role to select the organizations which can be relied on to serve the community, under such circumstance, the administration efficiency is increased, the administration cost is reduced, and the impartiality is ensured. The successful experiences and administration model of the National Accreditation Program for Beijing Medical Laboratories Designated for 2008 Beijing Olympic Games has evoked great concern in Ministry of Health of The People’s Republic of China and other health authorities in other provinces and municipals.