Proficiency testing in cytology laboratories in Ontario, Canada: a decade of experience. I. Introduction and description of the testing model

There are few formally documented proficiency testing programs for cytology laboratories, and those that have been documented are not entirely comparable in format. The first of three papers documenting a mandatory universal proficiency testing program for cytology laboratories in the Province of Ontario, Canada, presents data on the structure and function of the participating laboratories (including a comparison of the data for 1974 and 1980) and on the organization of the testing model (including selection of terminology, construction and use of the survey and assessment of responses). In 1980, of the 463 medical laboratories in Ontario, 91 of 222 hospital laboratories and 65 of 216 nonhospital laboratories were licensed in cytology. In that year, the 156 cytology laboratories processed 1.48 million cytology specimens, 92% of which were gynecologic. Hospital laboratories processed 87.5% of the nongynecologic cytology specimens and 30% of the gynecologic cytology specimens. These proportions have been virtually constant for several years. Between 1974 and 1980, there was a trend in Ontario to fewer laboratories processing less than 5,000 cytology specimens per annum. Subsequent papers in this series describe the results of the initial surveys in this program and a precision study to evaluate the consistency of reporting by individual laboratories.