Clinical Chemistry Link to Randox Laboratories Web Site
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Clinical Chemistry 53: 1873-1874, 2007; 10.1373/clinchem.2007.090563
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit an electronic Letter to
the Editor about this paper
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Plebani, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Plebani, M.
Related Collections
Right arrow Laboratory Management
(Clinical Chemistry. 2007;53:1873-1874.)
© 2007 American Association for Clinical Chemistry, Inc.

Letters to the Editor

Laboratory Medicine: Value for Patients Is the Goal

Mario Plebani

Dipartimento Medicina di Laboratorio Azienda, Ospedaliera-Università di Padova, Via Giustiniani, 2, 35128 Padova, Italy, Fax 39-049-663240, E-mail mario.plebani@unipd.it

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.


To the Editor:

Bossuyt et al. (1) make interesting points regarding the major transformations in laboratory medicine in recent decades. They also underline the new competencies required by laboratory professionals to address current challenges, including the need to give "comprehensive consultative support" to clinicians. I would like to emphasize that the evolution of clinical laboratories into knowledge services is the key not only for their survival but, even more relevant, for improving patient safety.

A body of evidence has been collected in the last few years to demonstrate that a large percentage of laboratory errors occurs in the pre- and postanalytical steps (2), in particular at the beginning (pre-preanalytical phase) and at the end (post-postanalytical phase) of the total testing process. These errors are especially related to requests for an inappropriate test and errors in patient and sample identification, data interpretation, and actions taken on behalf of the patients. In . . . [Full Text of this Article]






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2007 by the American Association for Clinical Chemistry.