Maria do Céu Ferreira
Instituto Português da Qualidade, Portugal
Title: TOWARDS BETTER MEASUREMENTS FOR METROLOGY ON HEALTH
Biography
Biography: Maria do Céu Ferreira
Abstract
: Interest and debates on metrology for health have grown over the last years and led to discussion about the key role of metrological and statistical principles applied in health care and health monitoring systems. Measurement results are supposed to provide accurate and reliable results and health care professionals assume they are accurate, reliable and comparable over time. This assumption implies that measurements are metrologically traceable. Nevertheless, there should be awareness that errors and uncertainties in the use of measuring instruments, methods and procedures could lead to unsuitable clinical procedures, wrong diagnoses, or inadequate treatments. Although errors occur in a wide variety of medical measurements, health care professionals believe that the most serious errors in medical measurements is motivated by any purposes other than the lack of metrological traceability. Based on the work developed by the multidisciplinary Health Metrology Task Group (HMTG), this paper depicts new approaches for best practises in health metrology. Aiming to enhance its metrological traceability, the case study is applied to an infusion technology. The specific role of metrology education is highlighted, focusing on the framework of hospitals’ policy and the related background of health professionals. The discussion is structured around the ongoing project EMPIR 15SIP03.