Gambino has defined the steps involved in the performance of laboratory tests on patients as (1) ordering, (2) collection, (3) transport, (4) identification, (5) separation, (6) analysis, (7) reporting, (8) evaluation, and (9) action. The seventh edition of Gradwohl's Clinical Laboratory Methods and Diagnosis represents a noble and monumental effort by the editors to present a complete and modern description of clinical laboratory methods in the analysis phase previously listed. The book's major strength lies in its attempt at thoroughness in the area of analysis. Its major weakness lies in its almost complete failure to deal with the other eight crucial components of meaningful clinical laboratory performance.
At this time, most advanced efforts in the clinical laboratory are directed at solving problems in the major areas of instrumentation, automation of data production and handling, computers, work flow patterns, quality control, process control, personnel management, the total systems approach, transportation and