[Turning point in quality control in Japan--current status & problems and future issues].

Abstract

Some authorities suggest that quality control in Japan is now at a turning point. During the 30 years since its introduction in the 1960s, quality control has improved dramatically, and a number of new quality control techniques have been designed and applied to routine examination. In actual practice, however, people tend to become insensitive to abnormalities or to ignore them, causing an increase in the number of abnormal results. This article will review a survey of quality control and describe the current status, problems and future issues in quality assurance.