Our Commitment to Quality
The Genome Sciences Centre (GSC) is committed to delivering high-quality, reliable, and timely genomic laboratory services that support patient care, research, and public health.
Operating within the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) and in partnership with labs and clinical programmes at PHSA, our laboratory maintains a comprehensive Quality Management System that promotes safety, continual improvement, and regulatory compliance. Laboratory performance is routinely monitored through quality indicators, audits, risk management activities, user feedback, and management review to ensure our services continue to meet the highest standards.
Quality performance and improvement activities are reviewed by laboratory leadership and reported to appropriate PHSA governance bodies to support accountability and continual improvement.
Quality Improvement Plan
Our Quality Improvement Plan provides the framework for continually improving laboratory performance and service delivery. Improvement priorities are reviewed regularly and updated based on organizational needs, accreditation requirements, performance data, risk assessments, audit findings, and stakeholder feedback.
Current Quality Improvement Priorities
Timely and Reliable Service
- Monitor laboratory turnaround times
- Improve workflow efficiency
- Reduce delays in sample processing and reporting
High-Quality Laboratory Testing
- Maintain the accuracy and reliability of laboratory and bioinformatics processes
- Strengthen quality assurance throughout all stages of testing
- Ensure traceability and reproducibility of laboratory results
Risk Management and Process Improvement
- Identify and mitigate operational risks
- Implement corrective actions arising from audits, incidents, and non-conformances
- Evaluate improvement initiatives for effectiveness
Staff Competence and Quality Culture
- Support ongoing education, competency assessment, and professional development
- Encourage staff participation in quality improvement activities
- Foster a culture of quality, safety, and continuous improvement
Governance and Accountability
- Monitor laboratory performance through defined quality indicators
- Report quality activities through established governance processes
- Share high-level quality information with service users and stakeholders
Progress in these priorities is reviewed regularly through the laboratory's Quality Management System and management review process.
Quality Improvement Results
The GSC is committed to continual quality improvement through the ongoing monitoring and evaluation of laboratory performance, quality indicators, user feedback, audit findings, risk management activities, and accreditation outcomes.
Quality improvement information is reviewed by laboratory leadership and used to identify opportunities for improvement, strengthen laboratory processes, and support the ongoing effectiveness of the Quality Management System.
For transparency, the GSC may provide high-level summaries of its quality improvement activities to service users and stakeholders upon request, where appropriate. Information is shared in a manner that protects patient privacy, personnel confidentiality, and other confidential or proprietary information. Examples of the information that may be provided include:
- Laboratory turnaround time performance
- Participation in internal and external audits and accreditation assessments
- Review of user and stakeholder feedback
- Process improvements arising from quality indicators, risk assessments, and non-conformances
- Ongoing initiatives to improve the quality, reliability, and efficiency of laboratory services
Accreditation
The GSC maintains nationally and internationally recognized accreditations and certifications to demonstrate its commitment to quality, competence, information security, and continual improvement.
Our laboratory is:
- Accredited to ISO 15189:2022 through the Diagnostic Accreditation Program (DAP) of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia for clinical genomic testing.
- Accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) for clinical genomic testing.
- Certified to ISO/IEC 27001 for information security management, demonstrating our commitment to protecting sensitive information and maintaining secure laboratory systems.
Current accreditation and certification certificates are available on this website: CAP, DAP, and ISO 27001.
Information regarding the laboratory's performance against accreditation standards is available upon request, in accordance with accreditation requirements.
