ABSTRACT
Economic analysis can aid the manager in his decisions about allocation of resources within a given program, but such decisions depend upon his having adequate data. This chapter is a report of the development of a method for obtaining information on one type of cost that along with other data can be used in determining priorities in the allocation of resources in a laboratory improvement program. The clinical laboratory is an essential component of the health care system because the physician uses laboratory information about the patient in his diagnosis, treatment, and management of illness. Laboratory improvement programs are designed to raise the level of laboratory performance by increasing the accuracy of laboratory-derived information about the patient. The problem of resource allocation with a laboratory improvement program is difficult in that, in addition to the several program approaches which can be used to improve performance levels of laboratories, there are more than 200 laboratory tests performed in clinical laboratories.
