Methods for rapid transmission of microbiology reports

Rapid microbiologic testing is of value to the clinician only to the extent that these results are reported in an equally rapid fashion. This paper discusses an approach where both manual and automated results are transmitted via a laboratory computer system as soon as they are generated in the laboratory. For the Vitek AutoMicrobic System, on-line interfaces have been developed; this system operates in a manner similar to instruments in clinical chemistry or hematology laboratories. Systems for on-line editing of bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility data are also discussed. It is concluded that computer systems capable of accomplishing instantaneous transfer of traditional and rapid microbiologic results are available and such systems are operating in some clinical microbiology laboratories.