Timely and accurate diagnosis is the cornerstone to good clinical practice and an essential first step to achieving optimal patient outcomes. The occurrence of laboratory errors can severely impair the clinical decision-making process. It is estimated that 2/3rd of patient diagnosis and treatment is dependent on lab results. A recent study concluded that most of us will experience at least one diagnostic error in our lifetime. In order to reduce errors and improve quality of care, laboratory professionals must be made aware of the impact laboratory results have on the patient and on the other hand clinicians must have a thorough understanding of laboratory processes. The practice of patient safety needs to be adopted in laboratory medicine to avoid any harm to patients and to improve the total testing process. Patients can be harmed not only by the issuance of erroneous results but also due to delayed result generation or delayed critical results communication, etc.
