Innovation in Laboratory Medicine

Abstract

Laboratory medicine has a unique capability to evaluate the correct management of a medical test, its results, and the decisions it can determine. Therefore, laboratory medicine should try to improve patient outcomes, while improving quality and productivity, so that innovation in healthcare may proceed. Innovation in laboratory medicine demands an adequate identification of the unmet clinical need, evidence of clinical and cost-effectiveness of laboratory tests, and a managed implementation that takes into account the process change, appropriate resource management, and monitoring of outcomes. The main objectives of this chapter are to elucidate the role of innovation in laboratory medicine, identifying its main issues and the barriers it faces; to define a value proposition for laboratory tests and to point out several outcome measures that can be adopted in laboratory medicine.