[Laboratory information and consultation service with a ordering system]

Abstract

We built a laboratory information system that does not require resident medical technologists or medical doctors. The laboratory information system used the following two methods. In the first method, the receiver of questions/complaints/consultations about laboratory tests used e-mail carried by an ordering system. In the second method, the Web utilized a laboratory test information retrieval system by intranet. As for e-mail inquirers, doctors made up 76.7%(46/60), and other types of job were office workers 11.7% (7/60), nurses 8.3%(5/60), and pharmacists 3.3%(2/60). The question(consultation) contents were test methods 30.0%, demands/complaints 28.3% for ordering, specimen saving requests 13.3%, consultations 11.7%, and other 16.7%. Since introducing this system, compared to previously telephone inquiries have by about 60% decreased, and basic questions such as reference intervals or containers have decreased even more. The system operates 24 hours a day and dose not increase the current workload, thus allowing the accumulation of a laboratory information system.