Slide 1: April 18 to April 24 is Medical Professionals Week. Diagnostic error contributes to up to 17% of hospital adverse events. The 2015 Institute of Medicine report stated that the reduction of diagnostic error hinges upon recognizing laboratory professionals as essential members of the clinical team. A 2017 study assessing the current state of inter-professional collaboration found that only 6% of providers contact laboratory professionals.
Slide 2: Laboratory Professionals: Personnel who prepare, examine, and analyze body fluids and cells. They relay their results to physicians. Types of laboratory professionals includes: medical laboratory scientists, medical laboratory technicians, cytotechnologists, histotechnologists, phlebotomists, molecular biologists, pathologists’ assistants, clinical chemists, and technologists in cytogenetics.
Slide 3: Pathologist: a physician who leads and coordinates the processing and analysis of tissue and organ samples with the primary care team to ultimately determine a diagnosis or etiology. Types of pathologists include anatomic, forensic, clinical, surgical and veterinary.
- Taylor JR, Thompson PJ, Genzen JR, Hickner J, Marques MB. Opportunities to Enhance Laboratory Professionals’ Role On the Diagnostic Team. Lab Med. 2017 Feb;48(1):97-103. PMID 27744341.
Tags: laboratory medicine, laboratory professionals, medical professionals, pathologist, pathology