Decentralized laboratory testing: attitudes of physicians and medical students

Attitudes regarding the use of decentralized laboratory testing were examined in two groups of district physicians (DP; n = 15), a group of physicians undergoing postgraduate training as specialists in general medicine (PP; n = 17), and a group of medical students who had completed five years of basic studies (MS; n = 15). A sorting test was employed involving 56 cards with names of laboratory tests presently or soon available for use within primary health care. The DPs showed a relatively high consensus concerning which analyses were needed most for near-to-patient testing. MSs (who had a basically hospital-oriented education) differed from DPs and PPs in emphasizing the need for a greater number of directly available tests in primary health care. The differences probably reflect differences in clinical experience. The importance of practically oriented education is stressed.