Myeloma UK has partnered with the UK National External Quality Assessment Service (NEQAS) to develop a series of webinars for laboratory staff to promote best practice in the reporting of myeloma diagnostic tests results.
The webinars will teach laboratory staff about the key diagnostic tests for myeloma and how the results should be interpreted and reported to ensure patients get a timely diagnosis.
The webinar project was started after a survey of hospital laboratories in the UK highlighted the key role laboratory staff had in diagnosing myeloma. Laboratory tests are essential for myeloma diagnosis and some of the tests used are specific to myeloma, so, the way results are reported by laboratory staff made a difference to patient referrals. The survey found that insightful commenting and referral recommendations by laboratory staff on abnormal test results helped GPs and clinicians interpret and actions the results helping to reduce avoidable delays in the diagnostic pathway. However, this practice was not consistent across all labs, which led to inconsistencies in how people were managed or referred, putting some of them at risk of slipping through the net.
The ‘Mysteries of Myeloma’ webinar series covers the following areas of training:
- What is myeloma, and the patient’s perspective?
- Diagnostic testing for myeloma-challenges and pitfalls (Part 1)
- Diagnostic testing for myeloma-challenges and pitfalls (Part 2)
- What to do with results?
- Participants Q+A and tricky cases
The webinars are now available to watch on YouTube.