Critical Results Management Practices of the Medical Laboratory Technologists in the Southern Province, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Critical results are laboratory measurements that require urgent clinical action and should be communicated to a clinician urgently. The study aimed to assess the practices of Medical Laboratory Technologists (MLTs) in critical results management in medical laboratories in the Sothern Province, Sri Lanka. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted. The sample size was calculated, and the purposive sampling technique was adopted to recruit participants for the study. Data collection was conducted using a self-administered, pre-tested questionnaire with the participation of 85 MLTs in Southern province. The questionnaire consisted of questions to gather information on the competency of MLTs, ways of communication, timeliness of reporting, and read back policy and documentation practices. The results were analyzed using SPSS version 21. The majority of the participants were female (74.1%). About 32.9% of the participants were certain that there was a critical result management system in their laboratory, while 42.4% stated that there was no such system in the laboratory. Study participants were categorized based on their practice scores as follows: less than 50-not satisfactory, between 50-75 satisfactory and more than 75-good. The mean (SD) practice score among participants was 43.39(±10.66). There were no statistically significant differences in the practice scores of the MLTs in relation to their gender, age group, or education. The overall practice of MLTs in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka on critical results management is not satisfactory. The results of the study highlight the importance of conducting educational and training programs for MLTs on critical results management in order to improve their practices in the same aspect.