A NALVT ICA L EDITORIAL
August 1972,Vol. 44, No. 9 Editor: HERBERT A. LAITINEN
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Clinical Chemistry as an Interdisciplinary Science AT THE TWENTY-FIFTH ANNUAL Summer Symposium of the ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry, held recently at Western Washington State College in Bellingham, Washington, the theme was Interfacing Analytical Chemistri and Clinical Chemistry. The program, arranged by Dr. Merle A. Evenson, of the College of Medicine, University of Wisconsin, was designed to bring out several viewpoints as to the functions of a clinical chemist, including those of administrators from hospitals, universities, and government agencies, and those of scientists representing various disciplines such as analytical chemists, biochemists, computer scientists, and physicians of various specialties. Throughout the symposium, it mas clear that the clinical laboratory is viewed quite differently from the several viewpoints. The hospital administrator concerned with increasing costs of medical care views it as a means of making a profit to offset the losses in other parts of hospital operation, notably bed patient care. The administrator of a university Department of Laboratory Medicine views it primarily as a source of service to physicians for detection, diagnosis, and prognosis of disease, and secondarily as a vehicle for teaching and research. The diagnostic physician is concerned with laboratory tests as adjuncts to medical history and personal examination of patients. The research physician is concerned xith improving the speed and reliability of tests used singly and in combination. The medical biochemist is concerned with expanding the variety of tests and improving our understanding of the meaning of the tests in terms of physiological mechanisms. The analytical chemist is concerned with increasing the speed, accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of tests through the use of new measurement principles and advances in instrumentation, automation, and computerization. The teacher of clinical chemistry is concerned with training students in practical applications as well as in fundamentals. The necessity for a close integration of all of these viewpoints through cooperative team approaches is evident in view of the enormous scope of clinical science. The modern analytical chemist is well qualified through his training, background, and interests to play a significant role in such interdisciplinary teams.
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