Reporting

Abstract

The cytology report represents the clinical product of the laboratory. The intent is to accurately communicate a diagnosis to healthcare providers in order to support appropriate and timely patient management. Newer information technology (IT) has allowed laboratories to become more paperless, exploit instrument interfaces, and transmit reports to the electronic medical record (EMR) as well as the Internet (e.g., patient portals). One of the main functions of a laboratory information system (LIS) is to facilitate electronic reporting and transmission of lab reports. Cytology reports contain largely textual narrative information, unlike Clinical Pathology reports (e.g., chemistry) where mostly quantitative data is reported. Therefore, it is important that the information in cytology reports is presented in a concise and easy-to-read format that will also not hamper their electronic transmission and downstream display.