Laboratory computers: tools for increased productivity.

Revolutionary changes in the computer industry brought about in part by the introduction of personal computers are now reaching into clinical laboratories everywhere. Although the true justification for any computer tool may be an intangible one such as improvement in service, such tools can typically be cost justified by increases in productivity alone. A broad spectrum of applications software useful in the medical laboratory is now available in any scale required to meet the needs of any size of laboratory. Perhaps one of the most dramatic changes in this field in the last several years has been the introduction of small-scale integrated laboratory systems that are true small-scale laboratory information systems. As a result, smaller laboratories can now acquire laboratory information systems appropriately scaled to their workload for a fraction of the cost of the large systems. These small laboratory information systems are typically more easily cost justified than larger ones. Achieving productivity gains using computer tools in the laboratory is a management-intensive process requiring careful analysis and thorough planning. Laboratory managers who eschew computer tools are now an anachronism; extinction of this species is imminent.