• Todd A May, Mary Clancy, Jeff Critchfield, Fern Ebeling, Anita Enriquez, Carmel Gallagher, Jim Genevro, Jay Kloo, Paul Lewis, Rita Smith, and Valerie L Ng.
• Department of Family and Community Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, CA, USA.
• Am. J. Clin. Pathol. 2006 Aug 1; 126 (2): 200-6.

AbstractAfter an inpatient phlebotomy-laboratory test request audit for 2 general inpatient wards identified 5 tests commonly ordered on a recurring basis, a multidisciplinary committee developed a proposal to minimize unnecessary phlebotomies and laboratory tests by reconfiguring the electronic order function to limit phlebotomy-laboratory test requests to occur singly or to recur within one 24-hour window. The proposal was implemented in June 2003. Comparison of fiscal year volume data from before (2002-2003) and after (2003-2004) implementation revealed 72,639 (12.0%) fewer inpatient tests, of which 41,765 (57.5%) were related directly to decreases in the 5 tests frequently ordered on a recurring basis. Because the electronic order function changes did not completely eliminate unnecessary testing, we concluded that the decrease in inpatient testing represented a minimum amount of unnecessary inpatient laboratory tests. We also observed 17,207 (21.4%) fewer inpatient phlebotomies, a decrease sustained in fiscal year 20042005. Labor savings allowed us to redirect phlebotomists to our understaffed outpatient phlebotomy service.

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