Tosoh Scientific Event 2016

Laboratory medicine is a medical specialty at the centre of healthcare. When used optimally laboratory medicine generates knowledge that can facilitate patient safety, improve patient outcomes, shorten patient journeys and lead to more cost-effective healthcare. Optimal use of laboratory medicine relies on dynamic and authoritative leadership outside as well as inside the laboratory. The first responsibility of the head of a clinical laboratory is to ensure the provision of a high quality service across a wide range of parameters culminating in laboratory accreditation against an international standard, such as ISO 15189. From that essential baseline the leadership of laboratory medicine at local, national and international level needs to ‘ add value ’ to ensure the optimal delivery, use, development and evaluation of the services provided for individuals and for groups of patients. A convenient tool to illustrate added value is use of the mnemonic ‘ SCIENCE ‘ . This tool allows added value to be considered in seven domains: standardisation and harmonisation; clinical effectiveness; innovation; evidence-based practice; novel applications; cost-effectiveness; and education of others. The assessment of added value in laboratory medicine may be considered against a framework that comprises three dimensions: operational efficiency; patient management; and patient behaviours. The profession and the patient will benefit from sharing examples of adding value to laboratory medicine. Laboratory medicine data informs a high percentage of clinical decisions in healthcare. The percentage is often quoted as being approximately 70 % , although a more recent assessment suggests that the impact of laboratory medicine varies with the clinical specialty and application . What is beyond doubt is that laboratory medicine is an essential element of the healthcare system providing users with pivotal information for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and management of health and disease. The global laboratory medicine market represents < 5 % of total healthcare expenditure. This central role of laboratory medicine in healthcare means that the leadership of the discipline has a responsibility to ensure that it is used optimally to the benefit of the patient and the healthcare system. In this context leadership must include the director of local laboratory medicine services and also those in learned professional societies and other specialist laboratory medicine organisations at a national and international level. (1)