Laboratories in patient-centered units.

As part of a hospital pilot project evaluating decentralized patient-focused care, a new laboratory model was studied. Cross-trained personnel (nurses, medical technologists, radiology technologists, and respiratory therapists) performed high-volume, automated laboratory tests in a unit-based laboratory as part of their overall patient care duties. Testing performed in the patient-centered unit laboratory, in general, was comparable in quality to that reported by the hospital's central laboratory.