부산대학교 도서관

An exploratory study was conducted to document and characterize medical laboratory practitioners' (MLP) consultations with other health providers regarding utilization of clinical laboratory (CL) information in a tertiary care academic medical center. An 11-week sample of electronic and face-to-face consultations (n=325) between medical laboratory professionals (MLP) and other healthcare providers (hospital-based users of laboratory information) was described and characterized by time initiated, medical service, urgency status, and type of provider initiating the consultation. Logistic regression was used to categorize independent variables, i.e., complexity, medical subject area, and testing cycle phase involved that predicted disposition of consultations. Statistically significant differences were found in the frequency and types of consultations among medical services and healthcare providers. Results indicate that MLP consultations vary in complexity when examined by phase of testing cycle addressed, medical subject area, and CL section. Complexity, including medical subject, predicts consultation disposition. These findings can be used to define MLP evidence-based practice (EBP) roles, establish priority for quality management, and increase patient safety and quality care. Findings support a significant MLP CL consultative practice which is largely uncharacterized in formal job analyses/descriptions, in MLP formal and continuing education curricula, and in the healthcare literature.