STOOL TESTING OPTIONS:

What type of educational initiatives would have to be undertaken prior to offering these options?

Physicians would need to know the pros and cons of ordering either the screen or the routine O&P examination. Screening of patients using FA, EIA, or the cartridge devices can be performed on request; however, client education is critical for successful implementation of this approach.

Specific information regarding appropriate orders for particular patients and/or situations would have to be provided to the physicians. The approach to ordering O&P examinations vrs. screening procedures would depend on many variables, including the client base, physician ordering patterns, number of specimens received per month, cost, presence or absence of appropriate equipment, current and available methodologies, availability of expert microscopists, collection options, selection of preservative/stain combinations, reimbursement issues, client education, area of the world where the laboratory is located, types of parasites recovered in that area, and other considerations that may be related to personnel training issues.