The SKML is a non-profit foundation. Any financial surpluses will be used for research, improving the quality of broadcasts, reducing participation fees and/or creating reserve funds.

Doctors and patients trust that medical laboratory diagnostics will always provide the same answers, regardless of when or where a measurement is taken. The SKML contributes to this by sending identical unknown materials to the participating laboratories and asking them to examine them as they do with patient materials. This is called external quality assurance because it takes place in addition to the internal quality assurance with which each laboratory monitors the consistency of its own quality.

After the participating laboratories have sent their results and conclusions to the SKML, the SKML creates a report for the participants in which they see their results compared with those of other participants and, where available, also those of reference laboratories or other experts. The participating laboratories use the reports as a control and improvement instrument and experience shows that by participating in external quality assurance programs, the laboratories will perform better and therefore the differences between laboratories will become smaller.

Through more than 130 circulations, the SKML contributes to the quality of the pre-analytical, analytical or post-analytical phase of laboratory research.

The executive board of the SKML is appointed by the general board and is tasked with implementing the policy formulated by the general board. Members of the executive board perform this function unpaid.

The general board of the SKML consists of the chairmen of the sections supplemented by the members of the executive board. They are jointly responsible for formulating the SKML policy. Members of the general board perform this function unpaid.

Each section has a board whose members are nominated by their own scientific or professional association associated with the specialty. Within the SKML, the sections are responsible for the design and organization of the distributions that fall under the relevant specialty.implementing the policy formulated by the general board. Members of the executive board perform this function unpaid.

The advisory board meets twice a year and provides (un)solicited advice to the executive board of the SKML. Members of the advisory board perform this function unpaid.

The CFB is located in Nijmegen and supports the sections and the board in the daily affairs of all Schemes. The CFB is also the primary point of contact for participants.