Effects of automation on laboratory diagnosis.

THERE ARE FOUR PRIMARY EFFECTS OF LABORATORY AUTOMATION ON THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE: The range of laboratory support is being greatly extended to both diagnosis and guidance of therapeutic management; the new feasibility of multiphasic periodic health evaluation promises effective health and manpower conservation in the future; and substantially lowered unit cost for laboratory analysis will permit more extensive use of comprehensive laboratory medicine in everyday practice. There is, however, a real and growing danger of naive acceptance of and overconfidence in the reliability and accuracy of automated analysis and computer processing without critical evaluation. Erroneous results can jeopardize the patient's welfare. Every physician has the responsibility to obtain proof of accuracy and reliability from the laboratories which serve his patients.