We often discuss staffing issues within the bubble of our laboratory routine. In this context, we discuss the need for timely training and competency assessment and the problems that ensue when these are not fulfilled; we are concerned when behavior affects work performance, cooperation and team spirit; and we act when there is dissatisfaction with…
The growing acceptance, use and demand for retail medicine is driven by rapid advances in digital technology, evolving demographic and cultural expectations, and legislative changes in healthcare delivery, most of which were underestimated just a few years ago. Retail clinics, which began operating in their present format in 2000, are medical clinics located in pharmacies,…
One of the key areas of laboratory to physician communication is that of reporting critical values. Since regulators and accreditation organizations define critical values as abnormal test results that are potentially life threatening and require a rapid response from caregivers, any steps taken to improve this process impacts the quality of patient care. This not…
In a medical office setting, the general office staff are often part of the de facto laboratory operation due to their responsibilities related to initially seeing, and communicating with patients. This includes the intake and update of patient information, test ordering, specimen acquisition, labeling and initial handling, as well as post-analytic patient contact and data…
