Fewer Tests May Cost More

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Abstract
To the Editor: Test-ordering strategies are receiving much attention, as physicians, hospitals, and laboratories adjust to the environment created by diagnosis-related groups. More judicious use of test profiles and multichannel analyzers has been advocated,1 along with educational and organizational efforts to optimize test ordering by physicians.2 A recent study in the setting of a health maintenance organization, however, shows a 32 per cent cost saving from using multiphasic testing instead of ordering individual tests.3 Analysis of our chemistry operation shows that a reduction in the number of tests does not necessarily result in cost savings. With a large workload, multichannel . . .

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