title: [The increase in requests for laboratory tests in the community--are there any effective intervention programs?].
abstract: In recent years there is a steady increase in requests for laboratory tests by primary care physicians. This increase does not necessarily have a diagnostic and therapeutic yield. There is a relationship between background characteristics of the family physicians and their utilization of laboratory tests. Various studies have been conducted in order to understand the physician's motives for ordering laboratory tests in attempts to reduce their number. Interventions to reduce laboratory test utilization yield different and sometimes opposing results. We reviewed the literature dealing with laboratory test utilization and interventions to reduce it.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Central District, Clalit Health Services, Tel Aviv University. vinker01@zahav.net.il
authors.forename: Shlomo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vinker
authors.forename: Yifat
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Quint
authors.forename: Rina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Erez
authors.forename: Ernesto
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kahan
mesh_terms: D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D010821:Physicians, Family; D015203:Reproducibility of Results