Pinecrest's Chidoki Onye Advocates for Lab Quality Improvement

Mr. Chidoki Onye, the Managing Director of Pinecrest, urged for stronger laboratory systems in healthcare during a speech in Lagos ahead of Pinecrest's inaugural Quality Assurance Summit. He emphasized that quality management in medical laboratories should extend beyond mere regulatory compliance, advocating for continuous monitoring and improvement throughout the diagnostic process.

Onye highlighted the critical role of laboratory results in clinical decision-making, noting that any weaknesses in the testing process could compromise result reliability and affect patient care quality. He warned that inaccurate laboratory results could mislead clinicians, lead to inappropriate prescriptions, delay necessary treatments, and increase the risk of preventable patient harm.

Onye called for establishing quality assurance as an organizational culture and stressed the need for investment in skilled personnel, effective processes, and modern technologies. The summit, organized in partnership with global diagnostics firm Bio-Rad, aims to gather medical laboratory scientists, pathologists, healthcare managers, and regulatory stakeholders to address systemic gaps and promote improved laboratory practices across Nigeria.