The KIMMS QA Program provides a system for laboratories to record a defined set of key incidents and errors that occur within the test-request-report cycle. This includes those in the pre-analytical phase of the laboratory testing process (such as issues with patient identification, specimen labelling, etc) as well as those in the post-analytical phase (such as accuracy and timeliness of result release, results going to the incorrect place, amendment or retraction of pathology results already issued, etc).

Laboratories that operate under a formal Quality System are already required to record the occurrence of such key incidents; the KIMMS QA Program provides a means of aggregating this data across multiple laboratories, thereby maximising the power of this QA activity by enlarging the detection window and achieving statistical power. This program aims to provide a process for consistency of incident recording, and provide a framework for laboratories to benchmark their error rates against their peers.