[Critical results reporting: the importance of local partnership agreements]

Critical results should be reported to the physician as soon as possible so that the physician can take the necessary follow-up actions. Failure or non-timely reporting of such results may lead to serious health damage or death to the patient. This article focusses on the reporting of results from the laboratory to the physician and discusses the bottlenecks and the separate (legal) responsibilities of the physician and the laboratory. Improving the process of the reporting and follow-up of critical results is a joint responsibility of the laboratory and the physician requesting the laboratory tests. This could be achieved by local partnership agreements.