The department of Pathology has established a revised Critical Value Reporting Policy as of October 1, 2001. This policy has been established to provide health care providers with immediate, direct (critical value) laboratory results. Telephone contact will be made directly from a laboratorian to a physician or other health care providers under the following general guidelines:

INPATIENT CRITICAL RESULTS: When a physician is not available, the laboratorian has been instructed to give the results to another health care provider within the same inpatient area.

OUTPATIENT CRITICAL RESULTS: During clinic hours, the laboratorian has been instructed to call the outpatient (clinic) area and report the critical value to the physician or another health care provider within the same clinic. When reporting critical values to a clinic that is no longer in service, the laboratorian has been instructed to contact the physician "on call" for that service.

When a physician does not respond to his/her pager within 30 minutes, the laboratorian has been instructed to call the INTEGRATED CALL CENTER and ICC will then page the healthcare provider with a PRIORITY page request. If there is no response within 30 minutes, the ICC will then page the "back-up" healthcare provider according to their protocol.

ETC: Critical results for ETC patients will be called directly to ETC. (Policy has not changed.)

We appreciate your assistance in disseminating this information to your staff. If you have further questions or comments about the policy, please email norma-ward@uiowa.edu. Please join us in the continued effort to provide our patients and providers with the "service of choice".