[What does accreditation of medical microbiological laboratories mean to patients?].

Accreditation of a medical microbiological laboratory according to the ISO 17025 standard confirms that the analyses included in the accreditation are performed with high quality. This paper gives an overview over various quality aspects of direct importance to the patient and the patient's doctor: i) the relationship between the doctor and the laboratory; ii) the selection of relevant analyses; iii) the accuracy of the results; iv) sources and estimation of uncertainty; v) stability of test results; vi) review of complaints; and vii) interpretation of test results. Special aspects of medical microbiology in relation to accreditation are mentioned.