title: Collaborative networks: helping rural laboratories achieve quality.
abstract: Rural hospital laboratories can combine some of their significant advantages with the benefits of an egalitarian, collaborative network to create a setting in which the disadvantages of their size (such as limited skill sets and resources) may be more readily overcome. Participation in a knowledge-sharing network, a coordinated effort at reference-range establishment and validation, and development of quality and safety algorithms help them avoid many potentially costly problems. This article describes the experience of developing such a network over a 30-year period and illustrates the benefits of this practice.
authors.affiliation: Dahl-Chase Pathology Associates, Bangor, ME, USA. Lewis_Hassell@dahlchase.com
authors.forename: Lewis A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Hassell
authors.forename: Martha W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Fogler
authors.forename: Sonia E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Russell
mesh_terms: D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D007753:Laboratories / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012424:Rural Population; D014481:United States