DELIVERING CLINICAL LABORATORY SERVICES TO INTENSIVE-CARE UNITS

In response to the pressures of cost reduction, we established and eva luated a carefully integrated program to deliver clinical laboratory s ervices more promptly and efficiently to the intensive care units (ICU s). The new protocol reduced the steps and turnaround time from orderi ng tests by physicians to reporting results by as much as 80% on all I CUs, permitting significant reductions in personnel (exceeding $400,00 0 per year). For the surgical ICU there were also fewer blood collecti ons (mean preprotocol: 7.0 per patient per 24 h; mean last 12 months: 6.0; P = 0.002). The volume of blood collected fell from 8.1 to 3.5 mL per collection, primarily following an emphasis on small containers. Consequently, the amount of blood taken from each surgical ICU patient decreased from 56 to 21 mL per 24 h (P <0.001).