Results of Laboratory Tests not Accessed in Brazilian Private Laboratories

Abstract

Background: Laboratory medicine is an important part of the healthcare system and directly contributes to preventive actions, diagnostics, treatment, and management of diseases. The level and quality of the utilization of laboratory resources have been frequently questioned. A dissemination of conflicting data regarding the quantity of laboratory tests not accessed by the requesting doctors or by the patients themselves is observed, although very often the sources and methodologies used to raise those numbers are not properly clarified. The objective of this study was to obtain data about access to results of tests taken in Brazilian private clinical analysis laboratories which use the laboratory information system developed by SHIFT Consultoria e Sistemas. Methods: Information was extracted from 81 laboratories, which were responsible for the performance of 93,240,651 tests, collected from 7,067,087 patients. Results: The total number of tests not accessed, considering all the regions, was 5,071,454, corresponding to a proportion of 5.4%. In the face of the potential risks of adverse events or impacts in the management of diagnostics and treatments, including economic impacts due to prolonged hospitalization time, the proportion of 17.9% which was found corresponding to tests "not accessed" showing "abnormal" results, is worrisome, mainly if we observe that of those, 2.5% were related to "abnormal" test results processed by laboratories which work in hospital care. Conclusions: SBPC/ML, in face of the relevance of the theme, will keep stimulating the monitoring and utilization of adequate laboratory resources, in order to allow sustainable healthcare systems.