Rhetoric Versus Reality? Laboratory Surveys Show Actual Practice Differs Considerably from Proposed Models and Mandated Calculations.

The scientific debate on goals, measurement uncertainty, and individualized quality control plans has diverged significantly from the reality of laboratory operation. Academic articles promoting certain approaches are being ignored; laboratories may be in compliance with new regulations, mandates, and calculations, but most of them still adhere to traditional quality management practices. Despite a considerable effort to enforce measurement uncertainty and eliminate or discredit allowable total error, laboratories continue to use these older, more practical approaches for quality management.