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Regarding unusual units I was surprised to see a few years ago a newspaper explain the weight of a building relative to the weight Sydney Harbour Bridge (Sydney Morning Herald - 13.25 x Bridge weight). The “SydHarb” is a well accepted universal unit covering area (eg fractions or multiples of the area of Sydney Harbour) as well as volume, depth, height and length (the last two referring to the bridge). Perhaps there is a role for this universal unit in pathology as well! Graham Graham Jones Staff Specialist in Chemical Pathology St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney Ph: (02) 8382-9160 Fax: (02) 8382-2489 >>> "Richard Jones [Pathology]" <[log in to unmask]> 06/10/11 11:27 PM >>> Dear ACB Brain(s), Tim's pragmatism of 'buckets per swimming pool' worked well in the world where the request/report cycle involved one lab and one client group. However the world has moved on with lab data being combined in large databases for GP clinical records, cancer registries, chemotherapy systems, GP2GP transfers etc etc. In this world users of the data who are not the requesters will need to understand not just units of measurement and reference range differences but also whether it is suitable to assume its OK to combine data when from different and unknown labs. This environment requires for patient safety reasons a single code linked to an analyte, its unit of measurement, preferably an agreed reference range and a code to indicate suitability to assume data combination when information from a number of different labs is being considered in patient care. All this is being developed through a number of routes with governance for the whole process being provided by the National Laboratory Medicine Catalogue Governance Board hosted by RCPathology. More on codes for data combination can be found at www.ychi.leeds.ac.uk/pmipunits As an example from data gathered from a GP system receiving results from several labs this is some of the variance in unit representation for HbA1c. ReadCodeExpansion UoM HbA1c level (DCCT aligned) % HbA1c level (DCCT aligned) % total Hb HbA1c levl - IFCC standardised mmol/mmHb HbA1c levl - IFCC standardised mmol/mol Aren't we supposed to be scientists and didn't we sign up to SI units? We weren't aware Hb was measured in millimetres! It seems critical that the pathology professions agree a robust and monitored approach to secure these developments - especially in an era when there is a direction towards patients accessing their laboratory data. We cannot expect patients to understand our variations! Regards Concerned Consultants of Brighton and Leeds Dr Gifford Batstone MBBS, BSc, MSc, FRCPath Dr Rick Jones MA, DM, FRCPath ------ACB discussion List Information-------- This is an open discussion list for the academic and clinical community working in clinical biochemistry. Please note, archived messages are public and can be viewed via the internet. Views expressed are those of the individual and they are responsible for all message content. ACB Web Site http://www.acb.org.uk Green Laboratories Work http://www.laboratorymedicine.nhs.uk List Archives http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ACB-CLIN-CHEM-GEN.html List Instructions (How to leave etc.) http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/ ********************************************************************** This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been virus scanned and although no viruses were detected by the system, St Vincents & Mater Health Sydney accepts no liability for any consequential damage resulting from email containing any computer viruses. ********************************************************************** ------ACB discussion List Information-------- This is an open discussion list for the academic and clinical community working in clinical biochemistry. Please note, archived messages are public and can be viewed via the internet. Views expressed are those of the individual and they are responsible for all message content. ACB Web Site http://www.acb.org.uk Green Laboratories Work http://www.laboratorymedicine.nhs.uk List Archives http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ACB-CLIN-CHEM-GEN.html List Instructions (How to leave etc.) http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/