Laboratory Turnaround Time

Along with accuracy and precision, timely reporting of lab test results is now considered an important aspect of the services provided by the clinical lab. Whether or not, faster TAT can make any difference medically, patients and physicians alike want reports as fast as possible. It has also been reported that the outcomes in certain situations such as operation rooms and in emergency departments have somewhat been affected by timely reporting of laboratory tests results. Hence, timely laboratory TAT is important from a medical and also a commercial point of view. A recent analysis of lab TAT indicated that review of this time interval has significantly helped in determining the cause of a lag, which is then followed by the improvement in TAT. This issue is tremendously important and laboratories cannot stress enough on its relevance. Appropriate and rapid clinical decisions depend on timely reporting of lab results, which in turn affects patient outcome. This can be interpreted as “Result delayed is treatment denied”.

Clinical laboratories emphasize on the importance of precision and accuracy of the tests as their goals for maximum quality service. However the physicians

Service to patient in the health care sector would be assessed by the timeliness of report delivery as seen by turnaround time. Therefore, turnaround time is a very important tool by which laboratory performance is assessed. An issue frequently seen would be in the definition of turnaround time, that is, if the turnaround time should involve the inclusion of the time period, whether from the time test ordering by the physician or from the time of collection of the sample. This also should include the time of generation of the result or it being received by the concerned physician who will then take decision in patient