title: Canadian family physician knowledge and attitudes toward laboratory utilization management.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Mitigation of unnecessary and redundant laboratory testing is an important quality assurance priority for laboratories and represents an opportunity for cost savings in the health care system. Family physicians represent the largest utilizers of laboratory testing by a large margin. Engagement of family physicians is therefore key to any laboratory utilization management initiatives. Despite this, family physicians have been largely excluded from the planning and implementation of such initiatives. Our purposes were to (1) assess the importance of lab management issues to family physicians, and (2) attempt to define the types of initiatives most acceptable to family physicians.
  
  
  METHODS
  We invited all Alberta family practice residents and practicing physicians to participate in a self-administered online electronic survey. Survey questions addressed the perceived importance of lab misutilization, prevalence of various types of misutilization, acceptability of specific approaches to quality control, and responsibility of various parties to address this issue.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 162 respondents, 95% considered lab misutilization to be either important or very important. Many physicians placed the responsibility for addressing lab misutilization issues on multiple parties, including patients, but most commonly the ordering physician (97%). Acceptability for common strategies for quality improvement in lab misutilization showed a wide range (35%-98%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These responses could serve as a framework for laboratories to begin discussions on this important topic with primary care groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3535 Research Rd NW, Calgary, Alberta T2L 2K8, Canada.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thommasen
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada.
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Clement
authors.affiliation: Alberta Centre for Toxicology, University of Calgary, HM B19, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada.
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Kinniburgh
authors.affiliation: Alberta Health Services Provincial Lab Utilization Office, 3535 Research Rd NW, Calgary, Alberta T2L 2K8, Canada.
authors.forename: Cheryl K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.affiliation: Alberta Health Services Provincial Lab Utilization Office, 3535 Research Rd NW, Calgary, Alberta T2L 2K8, Canada.
authors.forename: Maggie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Alberta Health Services Provincial Lab Utilization Office, 3535 Research Rd NW, Calgary, Alberta T2L 2K8, Canada.
authors.forename: Jeannine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Viczko
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3535 Research Rd NW, Calgary, Alberta T2L 2K8, Canada.
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Guggisberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Health Sciences Centre, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada.
authors.forename: Roger E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Health Sciences Centre, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada.
authors.forename: Tanvir Chowdhury
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Turin
authors.affiliation: Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre, Clinical Laboratory, 3942 50A Avenue, Red Deer, Alberta T4N 4E7, Canada.
authors.forename: James C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Wesenberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3535 Research Rd NW, Calgary, Alberta T2L 2K8, Canada.
authors.forename: Amid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abdullah
authors.affiliation: Alberta Medical Association, 12230 106 Ave NW, Edmonton, Alberta, T5N 3Z1, Canada.
authors.forename: William S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Hnydyk
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3535 Research Rd NW, Calgary, Alberta T2L 2K8, Canada; Department of Family Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Health Sciences Centre, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada. Electronic address: Christopher.Naugler@cls.ab.ca.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Naugler
mesh_terms: D000416:Alberta; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007753:Laboratories / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Alberta; Cost savings; Family practice; Laboratories; Quality improvement