[Consultation service for efficacious usage of laboratory tests based on logical reasoning and evidence]

To effectively respond to the desire for consultation in clinical practice, we must prepare logical reasoning and evidence which rationally supports laboratory test selection, the interpretation of test results and recommendation of certain tests to physicians. Standard of medical decision making can be used for logic issues such as posttest probability, test characteristics and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves and establishing appropriate cut-off points. Although we usually obtain evidence by consulting authorities or the literature, good evidence can also be obtained from meta-analysis. In addition, we can demonstrate the relationship of laboratory tests among several frequently occurring diseases and epidemiological tendencies such as frequency of causative organisms at several infection sites and bacterial sensitivities to antimicrobial agents, because we have access to a large-scale laboratory database. To construct a well-organized knowledge base with explicit evidence, cooperation among many facilities is necessary to develop system, which allows the free exchange of data.