PCQACL’s Birth
Eight (8) is the number of new beginnings! It is but fitting that as PCQACL turns 12 (a number of completion) this year, it is indeed embarking into not only a year of new beginnings, but dozens more decades of promoting quality healthcare. Back in 1999, the Asian Network for Clinical Laboratory Standardization and Harmonization (ANCLS) was created during the First Asian Colloquium in Jakarta, Indonesia. This is a Network of Clinical Laboratory in Asia that included countries as Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. Mongolia joined ANCLS in 2009.
Dr. Tomas P. Maramba was tasked by the DOH to represent the Philippines thereat. He, in turn, invited Dr. Januario D. Veloso to be the other Philippine delegate. Upon their return, they immediately started the ball rolling for our country to have an institution that shall guide and lead the Quality Assurance aspects and impacts required of the Clinical Laboratory.
In 1999, PCQACL was born! Barely a year young, it was “baptized” into the corporate world, in the year 2000, when it was successfully incorporated and SEC registered.
Known for his fervor for initiating and inspiring Quality Activities, Dr. Maramba served as the Founding President. To this day, he indefatigably leads and guides PCQACL as he continues to generously share his knowledge and wisdom, drawn from his innate gifts as well as his fruitful life and work experiences.
The current PCQACL President is Dr. Veloso who is PCQACL president twice over. He first became president in 2008. To view our roster of former Officers and Board of Trustees of the PCQACL, click here.
PCQACL Composition
Important stakeholders of the Council are the professional societies whose membership is composed of healthcare experts, ie: Pathologists, Medical Technologists, hospital administrators, other healthcare professionals, as well as industry partners, whose commitment to quality laboratory practice is manifested in continual quality improvement, aiming for performance excellence.
The PCQACL has six (6) charter members, whose names make up the SEC registration:
-Philippine Society of Pathologists (PSP)
-Philippine Association of Medical Technologists (PAMET)
-Philippine Society for Quality in Health Care (PSQua)
-Philippine College of Hospital Administrators (PCHA)
-Philippine Society of Hematology & Blood Transfusion (PSHBT)
-Medical Equipment Diagnostic Association of the Philippines (MEDAP)
A few years back, the MEDAP ceased to exist as an organization, but the Diagnostic Companies who have been very active in the PCQACL continued to be industry partner- members who are shining bright. Worthy of special mention are Roche Diagnostics (Phil), ably led by its country manager, Ms Linda Pijuan who continue to serve the PCQACL in various capacities, notably as its Secretary in 2010 and now as Chairperson of COMELEC. Linda’s gentle and sweet demeanor always pervades the room. There is Mr. Edgar Liu, now, the National Sales Director of Zafire Distributors, who also serves in various capacities as member of the Committee on Education and Research. Mr Liu is the steadfast Over-All Chairman of this year’s 8th Annual Convention. Egay’s warmth and enthusiastic leadership inspire one to do even better. Another stalwart from the industry is Mr. Victor Lomboy who was first voted into the Board of Trustees, as the representative of Lifeline and BioRad - companies that serve PCQACL as partners in quality- conducting QC trainings and the like. Mr. Lomboy is now the Hematology Product Specialist of Abbott Diagnostics (Phil). Victor, reservedly standing tall in victory but with feet on solid terra firma continues to lead PCQACL activities and actively participates in its committees.
As of last year’s registry, PCQACL has over 500 institutional members and counting. To date, there are at least 600 institutional members and 4 corporate members, namely: Lifeline Diagnostic supplies, Inc, ROCHE (Phils), Sysmex Asia Pacific, and Sero Diagnostic Trading.
PCQACL earnestly enjoins all its members to remember to be faithful with their membership dues The annual membership fee is minimal vis-à-vis the benefits you enjoy by participating in the PCQACL activities, trainings, seminars, workshops, and availing of posters that serve as clear reference to common laboratory (microscopic) findings. These are offered at reasonable cost and special price to members.
VISION
The PCQACL shall be the leader in promoting Quality Services provided by Clinical Laboratories in the Philippines by means of Training, Education and Research.
MISSION
The PCQACL shall be a dynamic, highly professional organization committed to the promotion of the provision of Quality Services by Clinical Laboratories through Training and Education, Publications and Research in collaboration with government agencies and other health professional organizations, national and international.
PCQACL Objectives
1. To promote Quality Assurance / Improvement in Clinical Laboratories, both in the public and private sectors among political and health administrators, health professionals, educators and other laboratory workers.
2. To conduct continuing professional education programs in Quality Assurance / Improvement in clinical laboratories in cooperation with health professional associations.
3. To publish a newsletter and other relevant publications on Quality Assurance / improvement in Clinical Laboratories.
4. To promote research in the area of quality laboratory services.
5. To collaborate with government agencies and health professional organizations concerned with regulation, provision and financing of laboratory services in establishing scientifically sound and practical standards, rules, and procedures in accreditation, quality assurance, performance monitoring, utilization review, technology assessment, outcome evaluation and related areas.
6. To establish and maintain relationships with appropriate Asian regional and national organizations and international agencies concerned with quality laboratory services such as World Health Organization, International Federation in Clinical Chemistry, International Council for Standardization in Hematology and National Committee on Clinical Laboratory Standardization.
PCQACL Annual Conventions
A day prior to its 4th Annual Convention on September 26-27, 2007, PCQACL also hosted the 8th Asian Colloquium of the Asian Network for Clinical Laboratory Standardization and Harmonization (ANCLS), held in Hotel Intercontinental, Makati City. Many delegations from different Asian countries were in attendance. Some of the delegates served as lecturers, as well. EQAS in the Asian region was in focus.
The 5th Annual Convention was held October 27-28, 2008, at the Diamond Hotel while the 6th Annual Convention returned to the Century Park Hotel on October 22-24, 2009. And on Sept 27 – 29, 2010, the 7th Annual Convention was held at the Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila in Ortigas.
This year’s 8th Annual Convention is on October 26-28, 2011 with the theme, Journey Towards Laboratory Excellence.
For the 8th Annual Convention, the Scientific Committee had coined the theme from Dr Dela Calzada’s and Dr Orillaza’s experiences as assessors of the Philippine Quality Award (PQA) which is comparable to the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) of the United States. To date, the MBNQA is the highest standard of quality management that delineated the measure of performance excellence by sector, having Criteria for Performance Excellence in Health Care, Education, Manufacturing, Nonprofit/Government, Service, and Small Business.
