5 The post-analytical stage

Now it’s time to look at the final stage of laboratory diagnostic testing.

  • Before exploring the post-analytical stage in more detail, can you recall the critical roles of the microbiology laboratory?

  • You may have suggested that the critical roles of the microbiology laboratory are to:

    • help individual physicians to select the appropriate test for their patient
    • provide right, rapid, relevant and reliable results to diagnose infectious diseases
    • explain the report in the context of the medical background, and the microorganisms involved in infection – it is necessary to interpret the data in context of the clinical condition of the patient
    • report results to clinicians, to influence their infection management and antibiotic prescribing behaviour (e.g. selective reporting).

4.4 Laboratory and clinician communication

5.1 Reporting results immediately and appropriately