title: Integrating academic and community laboratory needs: developing a successful outreach program.
abstract: Remarkably few large regional laboratory programs involving academic health centers exist in Canada. We present a model of a successful laboratory outreach program established by the Queen's University Department of Pathology (Kingston, Ontario) and its affiliated hospital laboratories. Community hospitals in small urban and semi-rural areas benefit from a diffusion of specialty expertise in laboratory medicine and technology, which enables them to increase their local testing capabilities and improve turn-around time. Testing and services of a more complex nature are referred to the academic hospitals. The result has been a steady improvement in the quality of laboratory services in the region with increased cost-effectiveness through shared services and focused economies of scale.
authors.affiliation: Queen's University, Ontario.
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Sengupta
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: More
authors.forename: P N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Manley
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D002202:Capital Financing; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D006764:Hospitals, Community / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration; D007755:Laboratories, Hospital / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017056:Medical Laboratory Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017146:Models, Organizational; D009864:Ontario; D011786:Quality Control; D012040:Regional Health Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*