General Problems for Clinical Laboratory Automation

This presentation reflects a concern of the members of the Automation in the Medical Laboratory Sciences Review Committee1 of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH, regarding the state of the art of mechanization of the clinical laboratory. It identifies general goals for future developments toward complete automation of the clinical laboratory and suggests ways in which these goals can be achieved. This editorial is concerned chiefly with the general aspects of the problems common to all sections of the clinical laboratory. It also is part of, and serves as the introduction to, a more detailed discussion that was prepared for the NIGMS, which is available upon request to the Information Office, NIGMS, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. 20014. It was the belief of the Committee that this presentation would be of interest to those concerned with quality laboratory services.