Non-Conformities of Laboratory Standard for Health Certification for Thai Residents Intending to Work Overseas

Non-Comformities of Laboratory Standard for Health Certification for Thai Residents Wishing to Work Overseas

Abstract

         The Laboratory Standard for Health Certification for Thai residents intending to work overseas (TWOS) is a standard for private hospitals in Thailand, which is registered with the Department of Employment, Ministry of Labor, Thailand. This standard includes the system of personal identification, health service system through the issuing of health certification. The objectives of this study were 1) to compare and analyze nonconformities (NCs) in the year 2019 and 2021, 2) and to analyze the data of oversea workers which had been repatriated and retested after arrival to Thailand. The retrospective review of data of 37 private laboratories in 2019 and 2021 showed 227 and 246 NCs, respectively. The three most common NCs were document control (17.6% and 17.1%), examination processes (9.7% and 15.9%), and specimen collection (10.5% and 9.3%). The number of Thai residents intending to work overseas repatriated was were 9 persons (6 Korea, 1 Kuwait, 1 Malaysia, 1 Hong Kong). The diseases reported from these countries were: 5 TB, 3 syphilis, and 1 HIV. The retested laboratory in Thailand showed: 3 TB, 1 pneumonia, 2 syphilis, and 2 HIV. The duration of Thai residents intending to work overseas repatriated ranged from 1 day to 6 years. The 3-days repatriated cases were possibly due to different laboratory results. This standard also included root cause analysis of repatriated cases.