Holistic intelligence and smart organization affecting the performance of standard medical laboratory guidelines of medical technologists at community hospitals in Health Region 7

Background: Medical laboratories are vital components of healthcare systems in community hospitals, serving as frontline facilities in public healthcare. The development of laboratory quality standards requires comprehensive improvement in personnel and organizational aspects to ensure public confidence and safety in service delivery. Objective: This cross-sectional descriptive research aimed to study the effects of holistic intelligence and intelligent organization on medical laboratory standard practices among medical technologists in community hospitals within Health Region 7. Materials and methods: The sample consisted of 187 medical technologists from community hospitals in Health Region 7, selected through stratified random sampling proportionally by province, followed by simple random sampling within each province. Data were collected between November 13-23, 2024, using an online questionnaire validated for content by three experts, with an overall reliability coefficient of 0.988. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and stepwise multiple linear regression. Results: The results revealed that overall holistic intelligence was at a high level (Mean=4.12, SD=0.45), overall intelligent organization was at a high level (Mean=3.80, SD=0.65), and overall adherence to medical laboratory standards was at a high level (Mean=4.27, SD=0.49). Both holistic intelligence and intelligent organization showed statistically significant moderate positive correlations with medical laboratory standard practices (r=0.599, p<0.001 and r=0.557,><0.001 and r=0.557, p<0.001 and r=0.557,><0.001, respectively). Predictive factor analysis identified organizational learning system co-creation (B=0.266), moral and ethical intelligence (B=0.262), and emotional intelligence (B=0.213) as significant predictors, collectively explaining 47.2% of the variance in medical laboratory standard practices (R²adj=0.472). Conclusion: Based on these findings, relevant agencies should develop organizational learning systems through the establishment of learning centers and mentoring systems, enhance moral and ethical intelligence through training and knowledge exchange, and improve personnel emotional management skills to elevate the quality and safety standards of medical laboratory operations in community hospitals.