Criterion for Urgent Reports of Health Test Data

Abstract

In the majority of health testing services, the results (mostly obtained on the day of testing) are reported to examinees after processing and editing that usually need 1 to 2 weeks with synthetic judgments attached. However those results sometimes include urgent data that suggest impending critical conditions. The criterion of data that should be urgently reported are expected to have been established in most of health test facilities as well as in hospitals. We reviewed the present situations of selecting urgent data in health testing facilities in our vicinity and tried to establish feasible standards for urgent reports referring to questionnaire response of physicians who receive our health test reports. The criterion for urgent report must be established practical in consideration of extra labor of laboratory personnel and extra cost of retesting and duplicating reports to physicians.