Editorial – The Microbiology Laboratorian in a Post-technology World: Indispensable or Obsolete?

Abstract

Technology continues to have a major impact on the way that laboratory medicine is practiced. Automation, culture-independent pathogen detection methods, and rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing are all influencing practice in the clinical microbiology laboratory and treatment of patients in the clinical practice arena. The mining of big data and its ability to guide clinical decisions through artificial intelligence and machine learning will continue to alter the value assigned to laboratory medicine. This editorial explores these changes and the challenges they pose to investigate the skill set that will be required from this and the next generation of laboratory leaders to successfully leverage the role of the clinical microbiology laboratory in a post-technology world.