True or False: A laboratory must adopt a discipline-specific standard to be assessed against it.

The statement is true because in the context of laboratory practices, adopting a discipline-specific standard is essential for ensuring that the laboratory’s procedures, processes, and outputs are consistently aligned with the best practices and regulations that govern that specific field. Discipline-specific standards provide a framework that helps laboratories maintain quality, accuracy, and reliability in their results. These standards often encompass guidelines for equipment calibration, testing methodologies, safety protocols, and data management.

When a laboratory adopts a specific standard, it can be assessed against that standard to ensure compliance and identify areas for improvement. This assessment is crucial for accreditation processes and for establishing credibility in the laboratory's work, particularly in fields where precision and reliability are paramount, such as medical testing, environmental assessments, or industrial analysis. Therefore, adherence to such standards is not optional but rather a fundamental requirement for operational integrity and quality assurance.