[Consultation on laboratory information--from the perspectives of clinical pathologists and medical technologists]

There is increasing demand for consultation on clinical laboratory test results. To respond to this demand, the Clinical Laboratory of Kitasato University Hospital opened the "Clinical Laboratory Information (Consulting) Center" in July 1995, which has been supporting medical care and research. The Center is located on the second floor of the Clinical Laboratory building of Kitasato University Hospital, and is staffed by one medical technologist and a clinical pathologist specialized in clinical laboratory medicine. The Center staff consults by telephone from 9 am to 5 pm on weekdays, and get inquiries after work hours and during weekends either by e-mail or fax. Since January 1998, the Center has been open to physicians belonging to the Japanese Medical Association, in the area surrounding Kitasato University Hospital. The Center aims to improve medical care by providing accurate and up-to-date information on clinical laboratory test and the interpretation. The staff of the Center attempts to advise physicians thus regarding appropriate tests for particular patients. This avoids the ordering of unnecessary tests, and benefits the patient, the physician, and the hospital. The staff should keep abreast of new findings on a wide array of clinical laboratory tests. The Center staff should respond immediately to requests and complaints, thereby always seeking to improve the Center. Since physicians who receive training in Clinical Pathology at this hospital must do a rotation in the Internal Medicine Department for at least two years, the clinical pathologist at the Center can provide not only interpretation of the test result but also clinical advice. More than 80% of the inquiries can be answered by medical technologists. It is important that the Center staff answer every question in a courteous and polite manner. Establishment of this Center increased the efficiency of the clinical laboratories at this hospital, as the other medical technologists were freed from answering questions over the telephone. Our Center is the first such clinical laboratory in Japan that is staffed by both a clinical pathologist and a medical technologist, and our Center could be a pilot program for a new service of hospital clinical laboratories.