Updated Toolkit Advises Medical Practices on Improving Diagnostic Testing

A revised AHRQ toolkit, “Improving Your Laboratory Testing Process,” is a step-by-step guide on how to improve the safety and accuracy of the diagnostic testing process in primary care settings. The guide, an update of a 2013 AHRQ toolkit, can help primary care teams assess how laboratory tests are managed and how the process flows from ordering to follow-up. Approximately 40 percent of medical office visits involve diagnostic testing, with more than 2 billion lab tests performed annually in the United States, predominantly in ambulatory care settings. The majority of errors that occur in lab testing are related to communication breakdowns. Access the toolkit.