Conventional wisdom perceives progress in the clinical laboratory as a
wider menu of available tests and technologies. In this review, we an
alyze a different concept of progress and propose the following action
s: better communication with clinicians, quality control, containment
of costs, continuing education and interrelation among laboratories, c
ritical evaluation of emerging technologies, review of work safety, an
d implementation and/or review of regulations. In the future, clinical
laboratories will have to offer quality tests, useful information, an
d low costs.