Clinical laboratories are facing increasing challenges to provide accurate and timely test results. In order to improve the quality and turnaround time of laboratory results, improvement opportunities should be sought in all phases of laboratory testing. This thesis demonstrates the applicability of quality tools within the Deming Plan, Do, Study, and Act cycle to the implementation of autoverification.

Autoverification is a post-analytical laboratory process improvement tool, which uses computer algorithms to allow qualifying test results to pass directly from automated instruments to the patient's medical record without intervention by a laboratory technologist. This can result in significant time-savings, improved turnaround time, and improved consistency in result handling. This thesis investigates the current status of autoverification in Southern California hospitals and the perceived barriers to the use of this process. The experience of a 350-bed community hospital is presented as an example to assist other laboratories in overcoming these barriers.