A data processing system for a group of three clinical chemistry laboratories. 1. Hardware and organisation

A real time data processing system for a group of three clinical chemistry laboratories (one base and two satellite) has been developed as a successor to one used previously. This paper describes both the inadequacies of the previous worksheet-based system and the advantages of the new system, including flexibility, fast response and comprehensiveness, incorporating urgent routine and long delay (that is, endocrine) requests, and the use of a parallel flow work scheme.