Executive
Board

Meeting of the 136th Meeting of the IFCC Executive
Board, November 8-9, 2018

Minutes
The 136th Meeting of the IFCC Executive Board was held in Budapest, Hungary at the Novotel
Budapest City & Budapest Congress Center
Participants:
EB Members
Howard Morris
Maurizio FerrariDavid Kinniburgh
Tomris Ozben
Rolf Hinzmann

(HM)
(MF)
(DK)
(TO)
(RH)

President
Past-President
Secretary
Treasurer
Corporates Representative (Roche)

IFCC Regional Federation Representatives
Adekunle Bashiru Okesina(ABO) African Federation of Clinical Chemistry (AFCC)
Abderrazek Hedhili(AH)
Arab Federation of Clinical Biology (AFCB)
Sunil Sethi(SSE) Asia-Pacific Fed for Clinical Biochemistry and Lab Med (APFCB)
Sverre Sandberg(SSA) European Fed of Clin Chem and Lab Med (EFLM)
Rosa Sierra-Amor(RSA) Latin-American Conf of Clin Biochemistry (COLABIOCLI)Ann Gronowski(AG)North American Fed of Clin Chem and Lab Med (NAFCC)
1.0
Preliminaries
1.1.134 Minutes of 135th EB Meeting, Rome, Italy, July 5-6, 2018
The EB previously approved the Full Minutes from the 135th Meeting by email. The Full
Minutes and the Summary Minutes were distributed.
Action List from 135th EB Meeting:
The Action List from the 135th EB Meeting was reviewed and outstanding issues identified
and allocated to EB members.
Quotes from Directors Liability insurance companies were reviewed and the offers were
distributed to EB members for review. A decision will be made after feedback is received.
Strategic Plan:
The strategic actions and the individuals and functional groups responsible were reviewed
and modified as below.

Area A: Supporting our Membership
Strategic Action

No.
1

Integration of educational programsContinue to publicize educational resources
available from IFCCc) Work with National Members and Federations tomake better use of the educational resources
available from IFCCd) Continue to promote communication between
National Members and Federations and coordinate
activities.
e) Continue to develop and present a series ofwebinars to meet the needs of Members.
a) Maintain and improve communication with
COLABIOCLI and Members in Latin America, as
required.
b) Maintain and improve communication with AFCB
and Members in Arab countries, as required.
c) Maintain and improve communication with AFCC
and Members in African countries, as required.
d) Maintain and improve communication with EFLM
and Members in the European countries, as
required.
e) Maintain and improve communication with APFCB
and Members in the Asia-Pacific countries, as
required.
f) Maintain and improve communication with NAFCC
and Members in the North American countries, as
required.
Conduct a survey of Young Scientists, sex, geography
and corporate membership active in IFCC functionalgroups, and develop a plan to address any disparities.
Establish a Task Force, chaired and made up of
Corporate Members, to identify and prioritize their needs,
and possible projects, along with recommended
membership. Assign to appropriate Division.

HM / CPD
HM / CPD

5

Promote to Corporate Members the use of the IFCC
Registry of Experts.

RH / Corp Mem reps within Divisions

No

Strategic Action

6

To translate the principles of metrology to one new
project each year in areas of laboratory medicine otherthan clinical chemistry.
Establish at least one new collaboration each year withan international clinical organisation.
An international scientific association, the European
Society for Clinical Cell Analysis (ESCCA, President
Anna Konstanti), is interested to join IFFC.
Invite organisations from outside laboratory medicine tocontribute to the IFCC meetings to promote betterinteraction with healthcare professionals.
Reach out to LIS vendors to collaborate on symposia
presentations and development guidelines andstandards of practice. Identify possible projects tostandardize and harmonize post analytical LIS
processes. Encourage IFCC Corporate membership.
Explore the use of electronic meetings by IFCC
functional groups. CPD to Investigate suitable
technologies

2

3

4

a)
b)

EB, Reg Fed Reps, NS representatives

EB, Reg Fed Reps, NS representatives

HM / CPD
RSA / COLABIOCLI

AH / AFCB
AO / AFCC
SSA / EFLM

SSE / APFCB

AG / NAFCC.

DK / CPD

HM / RH / Corp Mem reps within Divisions/ Divisional
Exec Cttee’s EC.

Area B: Broadening Our Horizons

7

8

9

10

HM / P Gillery, SD

SD to identify projects and relevant clinicalorganizations and send EB their priorities. EB willthen help to contact clinical organizations.

HM / RH

SSE / Robert Flatman

HM / CPD.

11

Explore the potential evolution of congress format toinclude electronic participation.

HM, JW, C-CC.

Area C: Improving the Quality of Laboratory Medicine
No. Strategic Action
12
13a

13b
14

In conjunction with others develop a route to laboratory
accreditation for developing countries
Promote research demonstrating value of laboratory
medicine.

HM / EMD, DQCLM / ASLM.

Leverage research in 13a to promote awareness of the
IFCC and the value of lab medicine.
Strengthen the links and collaboration with the World
Health Organization (WHO)DK/CPD

HM / EMD (C-VPLM).

SSA / HM

Area D: Improving the Effectiveness of IFCC
No.

Strategic Action

15

Performance evaluation of functional units including EB
including holding annual meetings with Division Chairs
Develop a new fee structure and implementation plan for
Affiliate members
Review and revise Strategic Plan mid-year 2019

16
17

2.0
2.3
2.4

2.40

3.0

3.4
4.0
4.2
4.4

5.0

DK, SSA and RH
MF, TOHM and EB

Full Member Societies
Withdrawal – Suspended Members:
Peru’s membership will be cancelled.
Annual Dues for Full Members:
Efforts will be made to contact Sudan, Iran, and China regarding outstanding dues.
It was confirmed that individuals in countries who have not paid dues are rarely or not using
the IFCC Website resources. No further action will be taken on this.
Other Business:
General Conference survey responses:
The responses to the survey of NS and Corporate members prior to the GC was reviewed
and will be presented at the GC. The responses will be compared to the Strategic Plan tosee if all items are being addressed. To be reviewed at next EB meeting (2-4 February.
Tunisia).
Corporate Members
RH will meet with Corporate Members to identify a Chair, Terms of Reference and a Budget
for the new TF-Corp.
Annual Dues for Corporate Members:
Additional efforts will be made to contact the companies that are outstanding in dues.
Affiliate Members
Application for Affiliate Membership:
Discussion is underway with CAP regarding some affiliation with IFCC.
Annual Dues for Affiliate Members:
It was agreed to calculate dues for Affiliate members on the basis of number ofsociety/organization members, as it is done for Full Members. A 50% discount will beapplied. Final approval must come from Council, via an electronic vote. The change is
expected to be introduced in 2020.
Regional Organisations
Reports from the Federation representatives were deferred to the General Conference.
SSA raised a concern from the EFLM with respect to the abundance of worldconferences/congresses and how to ensure that opportunities to hold conferences are

5.40

6.0
6.22

6.50

distributed fairly. He also stressed the importance of the new ETD communicating with the
EFLM and other Federations to avoid duplication of efforts and possible conflicts. It wasagreed that the new composition of the EB is an important vehicle for the communication of
any concerns.
Other business:
It was recognized that delegates from many countries cannot attend large WorldLabmeetings in “developed” countries, even with scholarships. Solutions to provide educational
opportunities may include more electronic educational events, more regional congresses in
conjunction with VLPs. However, it was also noted that successful large meetings, such as
WorldLab, are also important for IFCC members and provide funding for IFCC programs.
International and Professional Organisations
Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM):
There was a request for an MOU between BIPM and IFCC. The IFCC does have activities
with BIPM involving functional groups (JCTLM) and the IFCC could participate more actively,
including attendance at BIPM CCQM meetings. Decisions at CCQM should be made withrepresentation from SD. HM will work on an MOU.
International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC):
The current MOU has come to an end and there is a desire to renew it and extend from 3 to
5 years. To provide more IFCC participation in ILAC meetings RSA will represent the EB toreview meetings and suggest participation.

7.0 Committee on Congresses and Conferences (C-CC)
7.1
Congresses and Conferences Committee:
A request was received from Dr Ghassan Shannan to reduce registration fees for developing
countries with low and low to middle income. HM will respond to Dr. Shannon.
We will continue to provide auspices to non-IFCC organizations when it benefits ourmembers.
7.2
International Congresses of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (ICCCLM)
IFCC WorldLab Congresses:
A request was received from WASPaLM to have joint WorldLab. However, this is notpossible due to agreements in place with other partners for WorldLab meetings. HM will
reply.
7.2.24 IFCC WorldLab 2020, Seoul (KR), Seoul, May 24-28, 2020:
The EB will sponsor a symposium on, “Use of Big Data to improve Health”. MF and RH todetermine specifics in the next 4 weeks and share the proposal with the EB.
7.3
IFCC Regional Congresses of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine
7.3.1.15
Asia Pacific Federation for Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine - APFCBAPFCB India, 2019, Jaipur – Rajasthan, 17-20 November 2019:
EB will present a Workshop entitled “Liquid Profiling in the Clinical Laboratory”, including
MF, TO and Michael Neumaier.
7.3.2.24
European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine - EFLM
EuroMedLab 2019, Barcelona (ES), Barcelona, May 19-23, 2019:
MF reported that plans are in place and all is going well. Sponsorship and vendor
participation is good. The EB will meet on May 19th with Leslie Lai to review EMD
activities, and continue the EB business meeting on May 24 until noon on May 25.
7.3.4.24
Latin American Confederation of Clinical Biochemistry - COLABIOCLICOLABIOCLI Panama, 2019, Panama, September 11-13, 2019
IFCC will be involved in presentations and the EB will have specific presentations (MF,HM and RSA).
7.3.6.15
Arab Federation of Clinical Biology – AFCB Congress in Lebanon 2021.
7.3.7.5
African Federation of Clinical Chemistry (AFCC) Congress. Congress in Morocco
Marrakesh 26-29 Sept 2019.
7.4
IFCC Specialised Conferences:A request to hold a 2nd Mediterranean Conference has been received and was reviewed by
the steering committee set up to address this issue. Following the EB meeting but during theGC, a meeting was held with EFLM, AFCB and IFCC, with participation of the organisers of
the 1st Med. Conf. A report and recommendation will be forwarded to the EB for discussion
at the February meeting.
7.8
Congresses with IFCC Auspices:
Mexico and others have expressed concern regarding the use of the IFCC logo without
asking for auspices. HM and RSA will investigate this matter further.
7.9.13 IFCC General Conference:
A manual count will be taken to assess attendance at each of the GC sessions.
7.40 Other Business:
An article on “Predatory Conferences” was prepared by HM and MF for submission to the
IFCC e-News. The EB endorsed the document and suggested possible submission to the
AACC, and posting on the IFCC Website.
8.0
8.1

Scientific Division (SD)SD Executive Committee:
A request was received from the SD to include a young scientist (YS) on SD-EC, anddedicated funding to do so. The EB decided that all Committees will fill the next vacant
position with a YS and will retain at least one YS going forward. This will not apply to
Division ECs and will not apply to Working Groups. However, YS membership in WGs is
encouraged where possible. An IFCC YS is an individual who is less than 40 years old. This
policy will become effective Jan 1, 2019.
8.3
SD Working Groups:
Concern was raised that National Societies are not asked to endorse WG membership. It isnoted from the Procedure Manual 3.3.3.4 Members of WGs need not necessarily bemembers of IFCC Member Societies or IFCC Corporate Members (although this is to be
encouraged), but must be experts in the topic.
8.13 Joint Committee for Traceability in Laboratory Medicine (JCTLM):
The EB approved Ian Young as JCTLM Chair.
8.13.2 WG 2: Reference Laboratories:
The JCGM-VIM rep is Gunnar Nordin. The JCGM-GUM rep is Dr Graham White.
8.16 International Consortium for Harmonization of Clinical Laboratory Results (ICHCLR):
The EB agreed that the charge for IFCC Head Office administrative support as agreed in the
MOU is reasonable.
9.0
9.1

Education and Management Division (EMD)
Division Executive Committee:
The EB approved the following appointments to the EMD functional groups: Adil Khan as
new Chair for C-POCT; Flavio Alcantara for second term as Chair for C-CKD; Garry John forsecond term as Chair for C-EUBD and Cynthia Bowman for a one year extension as Chair
for WG-GMECC. The following individuals were approved as members for a second term:
Qing Meng, C-AQ; Ed Randell, C-CLM; Aye Aye Khine Wamono, C-CLM; Emma English, CEUBD; Rajiv Erasmus, C-EUBC; David Sacks, C-EUBD and Cas Weycamp, C-EUBD. DK
will advise Leslie Lai.
It was noted that the WG-PS has completed all activities in its mandate and the WG is now
disbanded.
9.2.16 Committee on Value Proposition for Laboratory Medicine (C-VPLM):
A contract has been signed by HM to support the UNIVANTS project, sponsored by Abbott.
A number of other laboratory medicine associations and healthcare industry providers are
partners in the project. The project will involve an international competition to identify thewinning initiative (relative to some best practice) that involves lab medicine plus otherdepartments. This is not an IFCC Award. After considerable discussion it was agreed thatparticipation is not contrary to any IFCC or MedTech ethical guidelines. IFCC has agreed toadvertise the award, participate in the selection and feature the winner on the IFCC Website.

HM distributed the information on the program to the EB. Paola to distribute the actual
signed agreement to the EB. Supported by EB.
10.0
10.1

Communications and Publications Division (CPD)
CPD Executive Committee:
The EB approved the CPD-EC recommendations for a call for nominations for the C-PR
Chair, a C-PR Member, and a C-IDL Member.
It was also noted by the EB that translations of IFCC articles may require permission fromthe copyright holder, as well as other procedures. RSA will investigate further.

11.00 Emerging Technology Division (ETD)
11.1 Update on ETD progress:
A number of candidates have been nominated by National Societies for positions on CEmerging Technologies in Paediatric Laboratory Medicine, C-Mobile Health andBioengineering in Laboratory Medicine, and C-Omics Translation. Decisions will be madesoon and the EB will confirm the final selections.
It was agreed that the ETD-EC will develop terms of reference, goals and objectives for the
new WGs and then submit to the EB for approval prior to establishing the WGs. There wasagreement that the Chair ETD should discuss with the Chair EFLM Scientific Committee to
avoid duplication of activities.
The ETD has been invited by Mindray to participate in a Workshop in China in October,2019. It was agreed that more information to define the nature of the organization of theactivity of the Workshop as well as the nature of activities around the Workshop was
required before a decision to participate could be taken.
12.0

12.1

IFCC Awards
HM will continue to finalize the rewording of contracts with Awards sponsors with respect tonaming of Awards and terms of reference.
The membership of the Awards Committee consists of:
Name
Position
Country
M. Ferrari
Chair
IT
A. Gronowski
MemberUS
C. Haddad
MemberLB
E. Hoyaranda
MemberID
T. Pillay
MemberZA
G. Russomando
MemberPY
T. ZimaMember
CZ

13.0 Special Projects and Task Forces
13.1.01 Task Force on Ethics (TF-Ethics):
TF-Ethics met in Budapest. AG reported that the TF intends to focus on IFCC member
needs. They intend to prepare a tool box with examples of documents that members canuse, addressing such issues as “Conflict of Interest” and “Confidentiality”. Material for
publication in articles, in e-News and presentation at meetings will be prepared. They will
also address the EB request for ethics training for IFCC Functional Groups.
13.1.12 Special Project on History:
HM will to write to PW for his advice regarding the outstanding issues and the resources
required for the Special Project on History of IFCC.
15.0
15.3

Financial Matters
Treasurers report - Income and Expenditure:
TO presented a detailed report to the EB and the GC. The year-to-date financial situation isfavourable to budget and no issues were presented, however it was noted that many
expenses have not been realized as yet. Our current external auditor, John Gates, is retiring
and a new auditor has been identified

15.40 Other Business:
The EB agreed that all Travel expense reimbursement will be according to the Travel Policy,
unless approved by the Treasurer, in advance whenever possible.
16.0
16.3

Organisational Matters
Nominations Committee – Membership:
Graham Beastall will Chair the Nominations Committee and each Federation will select a
representative to sit on the committee, plus Past President and Past Chair.
16.6 Procedures Manual:This will be a priority for 2019. HM will send the Manual to all EB members for their review
and send their comments to DK. There was general agreement that Officers should read andsign off that they will act in accordance with the Procedures Manual, and sign a conflict ofinterest statement.
16.40 Other business:
DK will continue to monitor this issue and determine if there is any further action that needs
to take to be in compliance.
19.0 Meetings
19.1 Council Meetings
19.1.24 Seoul, 2020
19.6 General Conference
19.6.14 Budapest, 201819.80 Executive Board Meetings
2019 meetings
Tunisia, 2-4 February 2019
The EB meeting February 2-3, 2019 will be held in Hammamet, Tunisia, in conjunction with
the STBC Congress February 1, 2019.
Barcelona, 19, 24, 25 (am only) May, 2019
Jaipur, 21-23 November 2019 (after APFCB Congress: 17-20 Nov)
Meetings with Divisions’ Chairs:
February 2nd – Tunisia: SD – Philippe Gillery
May 19th – Barcelona: EMD – Leslie Lai
November 20 – Jaipur: CPD and ETD – to be determined