Aim of project: To reduce the high general expenditure of laboratory services so that costs do not exceed income.

Methods used: Data collection including examination of costs, numbers of patients admitted, and number and type of investigations performed.

Solutions: Updating of guidelines for investigations conducted according to specific cases to avoid wasting chemicals through repetition and unnecessary investigations, and orientation to new guidelines.

Results: In the period Jul-Dec 2003, the total number of patients decreased by 3.5%  and the number of investigations dropped by 8%.  Crucially the number of investigations per admitted patient dropped  from 11:1 to 10.4 to 1.  All areas decreased but the ICU lab tests with Na and K dropped by 48%.