Cover Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
ISSN:
0003-1488
Publication Date:
01 Mar 2021
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    US Environmental Protection Agency. Guidance for preparing standard operating procedures (SOPs). Available at: www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-06/documents/g6-final.pdf. Accessed Aug 17, 2020.

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  • 2.

    Cook JR, Hooijberg EH, Freeman KP. Quality management for in-clinic laboratories: the total quality management system and quality plan. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2021;258:55–61.

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  • 3.

    Arnold JE, Camus MS, Freeman KP, et al. ASVCP guidelines: principles of quality assurance and standards for veterinary clinical pathology (version 3.0): developed by the American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology's (ASVCP) Quality Assurance and Laboratory Standards (QALS) Committee. Vet Clin Pathol 2019;48:542–618.

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Editorial Type:
Quality Management for In-Clinic Laboratories

Standard operating procedures

Kathleen P. Freeman DVM, PhD1, Jennifer R. Cook DVM, MS2, and Emma H. Hooijberg BVSc, PhD3
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  • 1 Synlab-VPG/Exeter, Exeter Science Park, Exeter EX5 2FN, England.
  • | 2 Idexx Laboratories Inc, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302.
  • | 3 Department of Companion Animal Clinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Hatfield 0028, South Africa.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.258.5.477
Volume/Issue:
Volume 258: Issue 5
Online Publication Date:
01 Mar 2021
Restricted access
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Introduction

Written SOPs are an essential part of ensuring production of accurate and reliable results in the in-clinic laboratory. Previous articles in this 5-part series summarized the overarching framework of the total quality management system, importance of quality planning, and important aspects of the facilities, training, and documentation needed for in-clinic laboratory testing. The purpose of this article is to provide information about SOPs, including their definition, purpose, and benefits; the various types of SOPs; and the headings and content commonly addressed in SOPs as relevant to in-clinic laboratories.

 Definition of SOP

Standard operating procedures are defined as written documents

Supplementary Materials

    • Supplementary Appendix S1 (PDF 191 KB)

Contributor Notes

Address correspondence to Dr. Cook (jennifer-cook@idexx.com).