Interpretive reporting to improve the effectiveness of clinical laboratory test results. An ECRI technology assessment.

Abstract

Interpretive reporting encompasses a range of efforts by the clinical laboratory community to develop improved methods of transferring information from laboratories to physicians in a form that they can understand and use. The purpose of laboratory tests is to provide clinically useful information that can be used to answer a specific question for the clinician. However, growing physician reliance on laboratory and other diagnostic tests and the increased testing volumes made possible by laboratory automation have yielded some unintended negative effects. Laboratories can now provide more information than can be effectively assimilated. The resulting "information overload" can cause clinicians to misinterpret tests, ignore significant results, or fail to act appropriately when results indicate a treatable condition. Research indicates, however, that interpretive reporting improves information transfer and thus increases clinicians' understanding of the significance of laboratory test results.