laboratory medicine (clinical pathology)

Introduction

The branch of pathology concerned with using laboratory methods to:

• confirm or reject a clinical diagnosis
• provide guidelines in patient management
• detect disease through screening tests
• monitor therapy

Major components of laboatory medicine include:

• clinical chemistry
• clinical microbiology
• hematopathology
• blood banking

Management

• endorsement by executive physician leadership
  • development & implementation of a laboratory formulary requires collaboration among laboratory directors & administration, ordering clinicians, nurses & clinic staff, hospital finance, & health IT
  • without executive buy-in, it is difficult to align diverse stakeholders
• data are essential
  • granular data about laboratory test ordering, both to identify opportunities for improvement & to monitor effectiveness of implementation

More general terms

• pathology subspecialty

More specific terms

• blood banking (transfusion medicine)

Additional terms

• clinical laboratory information
• clinical laboratory test