Analyzing the factors contributing to rising laboratory costs.

A new method for analyzing factors that contribute to the rising costs of hospital laboratories was used to analyze data from a Canadian teaching hospital for the period of 1971 to 1981. Results indicated that real cost per acute care admission has doubled, primarily because more tests are performed and the factors of production in laboratories are costlier. Increasingly sophisticated technology in the laboratory has increased productivity, and thus reduced cost per test; however, increased intensity of testing apparently has not been accompanied by reduced length of stay.