What happens after you submit your EQA results
What happens between submitting your EQA results and receiving your report, and how we made reports faster and more consistent this year.
When your lab submits results for an EQA round, the next thing you see is your report. Here is what happens in between, and what we improved this year.
From results to your report
Once a round closes, we work out an assigned value for each sample and give every result a z-score, in line with ISO 13528. That z-score becomes your grade: acceptable, warning or not acceptable. We explain this in more detail in How to read your EQA report: z-scores explained.
We then prepare a report for each program your lab is enrolled in. It shows your grades, z-score charts that show where you sit among your peers, a histogram of all participants' results for each sample, and the methods and reagents other labs used.
What's better for your lab
Reports are ready sooner. We reworked how reports are produced so that many are prepared at the same time. Once a round closes, your report reaches you faster.
The date on your report stays the same. If a report is reissued, for example after a correction, the cover keeps its original release date and also shows "Report regenerated on" with the new date. You can always tell when a report was first released.
Your reports are there when you need them. Published reports can be downloaded at any time, and we check regularly that every lab has all the reports it should.
If you have questions about your report or how a grade was worked out, contact us and we'll walk you through it.