Improving clinical outcomes - towards patient-centred laboratory medicine

Hard evidence of the specific contribution made by laboratory testing to patient outcomes and the delivery of health care is not easy to obtain. An understanding of the value of laboratory medicine, how that value can be measured and the various factors that influence it is vital to ensuring that laboratory services are provided and used optimally to improve patient care. To maximise the value of laboratory medicine, work is required to improve the utilisation of existing and new biomarkers, develop standard protocols for prospective patient-centred studies of biomarker clinical effectiveness or extra-analytical process effectiveness, benchmark existing and new tests in specified clinical situations with commonly accepted effectiveness measures, and define new roles for laboratory professionals that are focussed on optimising patient outcomes by adding value throughout the total testing process. This requires effective collaboration with clinical staff and a determination to accept patient outcome and patient experience as the primary measure of laboratory performance.