[Functional changes to hospital laboratories and roles of medical technologists].

During the last decade, laboratory medicine has been faced with marked changes in the health care environment. There is an increasing pressure to reduce costs and increase the efficiency and quality of medical care. In response, hospital laboratories need to undergo functional changes. Ongoing technological developments have markedly improved the productivity of laboratories and, thus, their information services. Currently, core competencies of hospital laboratories are shifting from an emphasis on information to knowledge services related to in vitro diagnostics. A key factor is to promote additional values of laboratory observations. Also, hospital laboratory services are shifting in aspect and field, from technical to clinic and from laboratory to near-patient, respectively, which are reflected in the recent upsurge in point-of-care testing and care delivery through an integrated team approach. To nurture medical technologists who meet such requirements of hospital laboratories, a continuous educational program is to be devised on a nationwide basis.