Part of the tertiary hospitals in Beijing has mutually accepted the results of laboratory clinical tests since 2007. There are 19 secondary hospitals in Beijing have joined this team that practices the “Mutually Accredited Medical Service Handbook” at the beginning of the year.

After the mutual acceptance of the results of laboratory clinical tests in all the tertiary hospitals in Beijing, there are 19 secondary hospitals in the city having passed the examination launched by the Beijing Bureau of Health and the results of laboratory clinical tests have been mutual accepted since January 1, 2007. It is called the “Mutually Accredited Medical Service Handbook” which is most welcomed by the public. As soon as patients produce the “report sheet on the results of laboratory clinical tests made by medical institutions of Beijing”, the hospitals that receive the referred patients will accept them. The mutual acceptance of the results of laboratory clinical tests can save not only lots of troubles and sufferings for repeated tests on the part of patients, but also a big sum of spending.

The mutual acceptance of the results of the laboratory clinical tests will impose stricter requirements on the management of laboratories, the performances of equipment and apparatuses and the skills of technicians. Can these hospitals join the team that practices the “Mutually Accredited Medical Service Handbook” only when they meet the set management standard and the technical standard? So, the Beijing Bureau of Health should, first of all, arrange a team of experts to carry out examinations and assessment of hospital laboratories concerned. Those hospitals that have met the requirements are permitted to join the team that practices the “Mutually Accredited Medical Service Handbook”. It takes time to include all the secondary hospitals in the team that practices the “Mutually Accredited Medical Service Handbook”. We will continue to make examinations and assessment of the remaining 80 secondary hospitals in the city and make efforts to expand the team that mutually accepts the results of laboratory clinical tests. Only when all the secondary hospitals join the team that practices the “Mutually Accredited Medical Service Handbook”, can the goal of mutual acceptance of the results of laboratory clinical tests be really attained.

The laboratory clinical tests for mutual acceptance include 31 individual items in the three specialties of bio-chemistry, blood and immunity. When an item on the“Report Sheet of a Laboratory Clinical Test made by a Beijing Medical Institution”is marked with an asterisk (*), the results of a laboratory clinical test are mutually accepted in all the hospitals in Beijing.

Patients may ask: Why are some items required to be re-examined when they show the results of laboratory clinical tests on some items that should have been mutually accepted?

There is effectiveness for a given period of time for the mutual acceptance of the results of laboratory clinical tests. The results of laboratory clinical tests will change along with the elapse of the time. The results of laboratory clinical tests on immunity have the longest effectiveness of more than three months, while those on a blood clinical test show the fastest change. Take the number of the white blood cell for example. The number of white blood cells goes up, when one runs a fever, and it drops when the fever goes down. And sometimes it is needed to make several tests a day. Whether it needs a re-test depends on the changes of a disease and the judgment of a clinician concerned. Therefore, an item that is required to be re-tested when a patient shows his results of laboratory clinical test and the mutually accepted results of a laboratory clinical test on an item are two different concepts.