[Medical decision making: its impact to clinical pathology]

Medical diagnosis is a complex decision making by clinicians, based on three kinds of medical informations; patient's complaints, physical findings and laboratory findings. Among those, laboratory findings are most objective, and more than 1,000 laboratory tests are routinely available at present. It is impossible for a physician to utilize all these medical informations effectively for adequate diagnosis. "Medical decision making" is mandatory for the most effective application of various laboratory tests. Thus, medical decision making is becoming a very important tool for adequate clinical laboratory practice.