Minimal requirements for hematologic cytochemistry in the community hospital laboratory

In the current atmosphere of increasing fiscal awareness, laboratorians are carefully assessing which procedures should be performed in-house and which should be sent to a reference laboratory. Ultimately these decisions are based not only on cost but also on the patient population serviced and on technical and workload considerations in the individual laboratory. A simple rule of thumb is to be able to perform stains that are either needed frequently or are very easy to perform and interpret if needed emergently. In choosing which staining procedure should be sent to a reference laboratory, it is helpful to understand both utility of the procedure and its special handling requirements, such that the best possible information can be obtained for diagnostic purposes.