Source: South Dakota State University
The South Dakota State University Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory has been notified it will be granted accreditation by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians for a five-year period, expiring in 2023. Gaining full accreditation means the ADRDL’s quality management system has passed a thorough evaluation of its standard operating procedures and documentation. These procedures encompass the lab’s organizational structure, resources, people, documents and activities — all designed to ensure a consistent product and services that meet the needs of an organization’s clients.

The accreditation process began with the submission of an application and documentation for a committee review, followed by a site visit from an AAVLD committee that consisted of directors and quality managers from other accredited veterinary diagnostic laboratories. The accreditation process was guided by ADRDL Quality Manager Rajesh Parmar and assistant Quality Manager Amanda Brock.

Final full accreditation is dependent upon the ADRDL responding to some minor findings in the accreditation committee’s report, which will occur in the next few months. The granting of full accreditation for this cycle means the South Dakota ADRDL will have been continuously accredited by the AAVLD for 53 consecutive years.

While a voluntary process, AAVLD accreditation is the standard for veterinary diagnostic laboratories. It provides robust third-party assurance that the ADRDL is providing credible results to its customers and working to continuously improve its testing and reporting procedures.