College of American pathologists accredits Aga Khan Lab

Rawalpindi : The College of American Pathologists (CAP), an internationally recognized standard for clinical laboratories, has accredited the Aga Khan University Hospital’s Clinical Laboratories – Stat Lab Rawalpindi as only accredited laboratory in North Pakistan.

With 3,000 CAP requirements, accreditation is a rigorous process. A team of CAP inspectors – practicing professionals qualified through a CAP training program – visited AKUH Stat Lab Rawalpindi last year to audit the laboratory’s quality records, staff qualifications, validation of tests, equipment, facilities, safety program and overall management, said Assistant Manager at Clinical Laboratories and Outreach Services North Pakistan AKUH Bilal Azfar Abbasi while talking to ‘The News’.

He added the AKUH Clinical Lab is also the only laboratory in Pakistan that is accredited by the Joint Commission International, a gold standard in healthcare delivery.

“The CAP accreditation is an attestation that AKUH Clinical Laboratories has achieved the gold standard in laboratory medicine,” said Chief Operating Officer at Clinical Laboratories and Outreach Services Shagufta Hassan while talking to audience at a conference, the AKUH organized to celebrate the milestone it achieved.

She added the AKUH Clinical Laboratories has always applied the highest standards of quality and this certification is a manifestation of the same and for patients, it means timely and more accurate diagnosis.

“From its founding, the Aga Khan University and its hospitals have aimed to achieve international standards in care for patients,” said Sohail Ally Baloch, Director Labs.

The organizers informed the audience that the AKUH Clinical Laboratories is the largest laboratory network in Pakistan. Besides the main clinical laboratory in Karachi, there are 250 regional laboratories, medical centers and specimen collection units in over 100 cities around the country. With a highly trained team of over 50 faculty and 250 technologists, supported by state-of-the-art automated equipment, the laboratories offer over 700 types of testing.