Brazilian Meeting of Clinical Pathology: The Power of Good Partnerships
Murilo R. Melo and Marilene R. Melo

The 37th Brazilian Meeting of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in Rio de Janeiro was a great success. The attendance and quality of the presentations, was efficiently organized by Dr. Octavio Fernandes, according to the President of the meeting, Dr. Wilson Shcolnik. The attendance was 4200 participants from 10 countries, with 270 speakers. They gathered to participate in 179 educational sessions, visit more than 300 posters and attend the Lab Expo.

The organizing society, SBPC/ML – Brazilian Society of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, was founded in 1944 and is dedicated to the scientific progress of Clinical Pathology and continuous improvement of quality in Brazilian laboratories. It started the proficiency testing in Brazil in 1977 and its accreditation program in 2000, now with 53 certified labs. According to Dr. Armando Fonseca, President of SBPC, one characteristic of SBPC is its ability to aggregate other societies: during the opening ceremony of the meeting, there were representatives of 10 societies and organizations, including the President of WASPaLM – World Association of Societies of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Dr. Kenneth McClatchey.

During the meeting, the II “Evaldo Melo” Accreditation Forum was held by the ALAPAC- Latin American Association of Clinical Pathology. After the 10 presentations on the accreditation process in each represented country, Dr. José Carreón Moldiz, president of ALAPAC, chaired the group writing an official position of ALAPAC on Latin American (LA) accreditation. A group was formed to establish a common effort for all accreditation efforts in LA, evaluating basic documents from the Brazilian Accreditation Program (PALC), CAP and ISO 15189, among others.

Another highlight of the meeting was the conference on the Official Position on Determination of HbA1c, a collaborative work of SBPC- Brazilian Society of Clinical Pathology, SBEM –Brazilian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism, SBD- Brazilian Society of Diabetes, FENAD – Brazilian Federation of Diabetes, and ALAD – Latin American Association of Diabetes, and the sponsorship of Aventis. The main goals achieved were the recommendations of HbA1c less than 7% for NGSP-approved methods and how this should be stated in lab reports. During the consensus phase of the work, SBPC introduced Proficiency Testing for HbA1c in Brazil. The consensus document will be distributed to over 100,000 physicians in Brazil.

The Brazilian experience at this meeting emphasizes the power of strong partnerships with other scientific societies, organizations and industry, providing important breakthroughs that will ultimately benefit the patient.

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