title: The "stat" problem.
abstract: "Stat" testing is a major asset and a major liability of the hospital laboratory. The ability to perform critically important tests in large numbers with great speed and with reliable precision and accuracy has developed to a remarkable degree. Nonetheless, the demand for "stat" service so outstrips the supply in most hospitals that delivery of this service often falls short of the expectations of the physicians who order the tests with disturbing frequency.
mesh_terms: D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004630:Emergencies; D007753:Laboratories / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013997:Time Factors