[Communication of useful information from laboratory physicians to clinical physicians]

In recent years increasing importance has been placed on the role of hospital clinical research, such as the promotion of intra-laboratory human, material and informational resources, previously restricted to the laboratory, to the whole hospital system, and the appropriate usage of laboratory findings via common consultation systems, or specialized informational consultants in the clinical laboratory department. The volume of clinical laboratory information, which plays an important role in the decision-making process of routine clinical practices, is enormous for each individual hospital, and appropriate use of this information has a major influence on institutional clinical practice efficiency. In response to the need for the communication of useful laboratory information to clinical physicians, departments of laboratory research consultants have been organized in individual hospitals as a way forward. In the near future, laboratory physicians will play a leading role in the communication of research information from the viewpoint of EBLM (evidence-based laboratory medicine). From the work of these laboratory research consultants, it becomes possible to obtain relevant EBLM-related information, such as frequently asked questions and opinions, from their users. By replying to these questions and opinions appropriately, laboratory research consultants can provide information that is both advantageous and useful, and which meets the needs of the clinical physician side. Effective communication of useful laboratory research information should not be restricted to either the laboratory physicians or the technicians; it is a job that needs the cooperation and teamwork of both sets of people. Also, they should always keep in mind that communication by itself is not sufficient; they should not assume the useful evaluation of information by the users, but rather ensure that they are presented with information that precisely meets their needs.