Taking Center Stage: Clinical Laboratory Leading Diagnostic Stewardship Efforts

This article will discuss diagnostic stewardship from the perspective of those who are just starting, or have recently started, a diagnostic stewardship effort. This document will provide guidance on how to identify opportunities for intervention and tools that can be used to affect change. Specifically, we will discuss key components of a diagnostic stewardship committee, referral laboratory testing, prior authorization, miscellaneous test orders, establishing a laboratory test formulary, and conclude with some specific examples of interventions that can be considered.