[Can we rely on electronic reporting of laboratory results?].
BACKGROUND
Electronic result reporting from two laboratories to physicians in primary health care through electronic data interchange (EDI) has been used as a supplement to the printed reports. The aim of the study was to see if the quality of the electronic reporting could be improved so that the printed reporting could be cut out without any loss of data.


METHODS
Staff members in 20 selected offices were interviewed and error messages on file in the computer systems were studied.


RESULTS
During a period of four months, the laboratories sent 10,740 electronic messages to the selected offices. Error messages arose from 71 of these messages (0.7%). 49 of the errors were discovered and corrected by the staff, but 22 errors were not noticed, and the result reports were lost.


CONCLUSIONS
If electronic result reporting should become the only reporting routine, it would be necessary to change several routines both in the laboratories and in the physician's offices. Patients must be identified by using official identifiers. The physicians must control in the computer system that all requested results are received, and the programs used for controlling the messages before they are entered into the electronic patient journal, must be improved.
Stensland
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Laboratorium for klinisk biokjemi Haukeland Sykehus, Bergen. sten@haukeland.no
D002984:Clinical Laboratory Information Systems / Q000592:standards*; D003195:Computer Communication Networks / Q000592:standards*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006801:Humans; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized / Q000592:standards; D009664:Norway; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires