[Communications between hospital laboratory personnel and physicians]

The availability of internet facilities have been spreading rapidly and widely over the past several years. We publish a laboratory data handbook every year and distribute this to physicians in our hospital. Recently we have moved the information to our web site of the Internet. Using the web site, physicians can refer to the information on a 24-hour basis. This information includes: reference ranges; correlation of data obtained by previous and new methods; procedures for ordering each type of laboratory test. Furthermore, anyone can send questions and opinions by E-mail through the web page. The graphs which show the average values of patient results for each day can be obtained by using our database. These graphs are useful for long-range quality management of precision. Another important application is displaying histograms showing the distribution of test results between patients with a specific disease and healthy subjects. The application is expected to facilitate progress in laboratory medicine.