Evolution of haematology 1996 - 2021

• Published in: New Zealand journal of medical laboratory science Vol. 75; no. 3; pp. 234 - 237
• Main Author: Johnson, Steve
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Auckland, New Zealand New Zealand Institute of Medical Laboratory Science 01.11.2021
• Subjects: Automation; Data processing; Diagnosis, Laboratory; Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; Funding; Hematology; Hospitals; Information technology; Laboratories; Methodology; Middleware; Pathologists; Pathology; Rivaroxaban; Technique; New Zealand
• ISSN: 1171-0195

When I was asked to contribute this article describing how haematology has changed over the last 25 years (1996 - 2021), I realised that the timeframe fitted in nicely with the second part of my career as a haematology laboratory scientist. Prior to 1996, laboratories in New Zealand were either community laboratories who performed laboratory testing and received payment for the service on a fee per test basis set out in a schedule of allowable tests; or hospital laboratories that were owned and directly funded by the government. The community laboratories that had been traditionally owned by pathologists were being acquired by national or international companies. In the early 1990s, SGS (a Swiss global certification company) acquired Medical Diagnostics, the laboratory I was employed by. Medical Diagnostics had new management who viewed change as an opportunity and used innovation as a tool to chart their course through the challenging times to come. The following description of the last 25 years is as seen through my eyes, but I am sure that there will be many events, circumstances and technologies that will be familiar to most readers.