Stuff we Should Not Be Doing: A Look at Better Ways to Determine the Appropriate Tests to Offer and How to Best Minimize Errors. Antibiotic Stewardship and Laboratory Stewardship, How can they Help |Biomedgrid

Laboratory testing is dependent upon Preanalytical, analytical and postanalytical test phases. In the laboratory we are focused upon the analytical phase and often ignore the preanalytical and postanalytical portion of testing. This is a drastic error, even though both the pre and post phases are more difficult to control, they account for many errors and for delays in caregivers reacting to test results. Seventy percent of laboratory errors are associated with pre-analytical errors. Much work has been done to speed the results of laboratory testing in the analytical phase, however if the results are not available to care givers soon after they are posted in the laboratory information system, then the effort expended to speed the testing will be wasted. When possible, electronic results sent directly to the care giver will aid in care, i.e. Theradoc system. Also, if test results can be in the medical record when the caregiver can review them or rounds with patients, it will speed appropriate care.