The Role of Medical Laboratory Science in Health Care by Nofisat Akinremi

The clinical laboratory is the heart of any hospital or health care system and it accounts for over 70% of medical diagnoses and decisions made by physicians annually. Research laboratory testing permits for early detection and diagnosing of diseases, that results in additional personalized treatment plans for every patient. The clinical research laboratory is concerned with the development of patient quality of care; serving to attain long-term medical prices. The clinical research laboratory science (CLS) has in-depth coaching in the lab. Medication, however, their contribution to the whole health care team caring for a patient is often underestimated and not well-understood.

Laboratory tests vary from the “essential tests” like a chemical analysis or complete blood count (CBC) to the “terribly advanced” like the genetic testing to diagnose inheritable diseases. The foremost departments found in clinical research laboratory include medicine, chemistry, biological science, coagulation, blood bank, medical science or medical specialty, and pharmacology. Larger hospitals or health systems have been found to be able to carry out their testing in-house whereas smaller health care facilities and research laboratories could use a reference lab. to perform their testing which can be attributed to the complexity involved.

This complex process begins from the practitioner ordering the research laboratory check on a specimen (blood, urine, stool, tissue, body fluid), and it been received within the research laboratory. Patient identifiers (name, date of birth, hospital ID number) are noted to be an extremely important data needed for clarity and accuracy in every busy research lab that receive lots of specimens daily. Once these data are confirmed and the specimen is suitable for the check ordered, it goes to into the department that runs the requested test.

A medical laboratory scientist (MLS), additionally and historically brought up as a clinical laboratory scientist (CLS) or a medical technologist (MT) is a healthcare professional who performs chemical, hematological, immunologic, histopathological, cytopathological, microscopic and bacteriological diagnostic analysis on body fluids such as blood, urine, sputum, stool, neural structure fluid (CSF), serous membrane fluid and synovial fluid, as different specimens. Medical laboratory scientists work in clinical laboratories at hospitals, reference labs, biotechnology labs and non-clinical industrial labs. Those who add non-clinical industrial labs square measure to their works, are usually brought up as biomedical laboratory technologists (BLT) around the globe. Generally, the role of a Medical Laboratory Scientist is to supply correct laboratory reports and finished products in a timely manner.

Clinical laboratories offer data and services that contribute to maximising the effective delivery of care in today’s advanced health care system by reassuring that the right laboratory investigation is performed on the appropriate person, at the appropriate time, manufacturing correct investigation reports that guides suppliers of specimen – usually health care workers – to form the proper diagnostic and therapeutic selections, making use of the proper level of health care resources. Laboratory data permits physicians and different tending professionals to form acceptable evidence-based diagnostic or therapeutic selections for his or her patients. Clinical laboratory services pick the foremost, value effective and least invasive means to supply the target data employed in clinical decision-making. Also, it has a right-away impact on several aspects of patient care including, however not restricted to, length of admission period, patient’s safety, resource utilization, and client’s satisfaction.

While technology continues to boost the productivity of today’s laboratories, new technologies, new diseases, and unwellness strains still drive the necessity for additional tests and testing. Changes within the world, like bio-terrorism and also the rate at which diseases unfold globally, drive the necessity for fast diagnosing. Thus, the skilled clinical laboratory scientist is an imperative partner in providing patient care, and creating direct enhancements within the lives of patients, within the maintenance of the public’s health, and within the effectiveness of individual health care workers.

While technology continues to boost the productivity of today’s laboratories, new technologies, new diseases, and unwellness strains still drive the necessity for additional tests and testing. Changes within the world, like bio-terrorism and also the rate at which diseases unfold globally, drive the necessity for fast diagnosing. Thus, the skilled clinical laboratory scientist is an imperative partner in providing patient care, and creating direct enhancements within the lives of patients, within the maintenance of the public’s health, and within the effectiveness of individual health care workers.

Tests, usually classified as screening or diagnostic are essential components of protocols accustomed to diagnose and manage specific diseases and conditions. While testing models (that is, Algorithmic), designed with clinicians, have accustomed guide containing diagnostic methods to get the timely relevant for a given patient, hence, shortening the time to diagnose, the length of keep and improve utilization of laboratory services. These models assist in fast identification of unwellness, assessment of severity of unwellness, creation of a therapeutic set up, management and monitoring of treatment outcomes. The more economic and human friendly the testing protocol, the shorter the length of inmate keep or patient encounter, the quicker the implementation of medical aid, and also the lower the cost and general value of care.

Clinical laboratory services as a unit offers a significant element of making certain optimum outcomes for all patients accessing health care, whether it is for straightforward things/issues or complex forms such as life threatening situations and end-of-life care because patients’ safety and impacting patient outcome is an important aspect of the services rendered. Laboratory professionals impact patient safety by providing pre-surgical or pre-procedural testing that determines the present ability of the patient to bear those treatments. Patient outcomes are also influenced by providing the required information for clinicians to observe the effectiveness of current treatments and therapies. These outcomes can even be measured by however well chronic sicknesses are well managed. For example, dieticians admit laboratory support to observe the semipermanent effectiveness of their home observation systems. Laboratory professionals further provide very important information to help clinicians create choices that have an effect on quality of life for his or her patients.

Other ground breaking physical tests and innovation, from simple lipid profile checks to deciding the correct antibiotics necessary for killing off a very resistant strain of microorganism just like the penicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus are works attributed to the scientists globally across various international bodies e.g. the United Nations agency. These internationally recognized scientists test, interpret and write the full important reports needed and used by doctors globally to diagnose disease accurately and treat patients with success. Once a treatment scheme is gotten and introduced, the physicians yet again depend on the accuracy of the targeted knowledge ceaselessly provided by medical lab. professionals to observe the condition of the patient. Doctors wouldn’t be ready to save as several lives as they are doing nowadays if the scientists didn’t play the role and up to the task. In this regard, they are the units that save infinite lives daily and are still going principally unobserved by those they helped to avoid wasting.

Furthermore, they consistently engage in testing for high risk communicable conditions including viral hemorrhagic diseases, contagious diseases, vertebrate flu, swine flu, influenza, and other contagious respiratory disease, Hodgkin disease and so on to search out higher vaccines and cures at different levels of specialised disease analysis institutes such as Center for disease control and management and Prevention agency (CDC), federal government agencies, The Division of disease Control (DCDC) and many more. Although, the overall public attributes the findings and successes of those analysis to the doctors alone, but in truth, they’re principally the results of combined work done by medical laboratory scientists. The Oral Rabies Vaccination Program in Texas remains a primary example of such a triumphant program, that managed to eliminate a sort of Rabies sometimes narrowed from animals like coyotes and foxes.

If there was ever an associate underappreciated in the field of health aid, in spite of getting a promising career with prospects and enjoying the significant role of saving lives daily, then that will be the medical laboratory scientist. An Associate MLS (medical laboratory scientist) is the skilled one that produces the medical reports doctors everywhere on the planet rely on to diagnose myriads of health conditions. They are conjointly those in international decision making bodies – CDC and United Nations agency – playing an utmost role in procuring vaccines and cures for critical epidemics. Therefore, the work done by the clinical workforce is associated essentially to the necessary “planet of bioscience” and international body of the important MLS professionals within the field.

Nofisat Bukola Akinremi (BSc. Microbiology, MSc. Ecotourism) is a medical microbiologist and passionate advocate for ecology and biodiversity.

REFERENCES:

1. Forsman Rodney S. Why is the laboratory an afterthought for managed care organizations? Clinical Chemistry. 42: (5): 813-816. 1996.
2. Forsman Rodney S. The Value of the Laboratory Professional in the Continuum of Care. Clinical leadership and management review, 370-373. Nov/Dec 2002.
3. ASCLS Scope of Practice Position Paper, 2001.
4. http://www.mgh.harvard.edu/labmed/ser/interp.htm visited June 10, 2005
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_laboratory_scientist
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7. www.google.com – photo credit