Dear Mail base members

 

How and where in you laboratory informations systems do you present results to the clinicians on genetic testing for e.g. LCT mutations in lactose intolerance, factor V leyden mutations, prothrombin mutations, CYP2D6 alleles?

 

Having worked with different Laboratory Information Systems it seems to be done in various different ways; as a written description, as a genotype, as 0,1, 2 for wildtype, heterozygote and homozygote where the numbers are explained in a link that can be opened from the result page.

The tests results - however permanent for that patient -  is placed in the same place as other more rapidly changing analytes like WBC and C reactive protein i.e. as any other test result from 01.01.2013.

This leads to unnecessary repeating of genetic test as clinicians struggle to find the results at a  if they are placed several result pages/screen pages back and they end up ordering a new genetic test. The performing lab might cancel the request but if different labs are used, then there is no obvious block even when using a shared Laboratory Information System.

Working with statistics on biochemical data in large scale research projects is also made difficult by these very different ways of presenting results.

 

Do any of you have any good experience you want to share?

 

Looking forward to hearing from you.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Karen Søeby MD

Department of Clinical Biochemistry

Roskilde Hospital

Denmark