Computers in the Clinical Laboratory

The Physician-Laboratory-Physician Communication Loop During the past few years, we have seen steady progress toward improved accuracy and precision in the clinical laboratory. New methods, new instruments, and new quality-control systems have decreased the frequency of laboratory error due to improper analysis. Improved analytic performance means that an increasing percentage of laboratory problems are now related to communication and interpretation of results.^1-3 Some common problems include (1) requests that never reach the laboratory; (2) reports that never reach the patient chart; (3) unreasonable delays in the cycle of request-analysis-report; and (4) "data overload"—as the volume of laboratory data increases, interpretation becomes increasingly difficult.

In some settings, more than 10% of requests never reach the laboratory; more than 10% of reports never reach the patient chart; more than 10% of results do not reach the attending physician while still relevant; and other results have little or no value in terms