Hidden Cost of Poor Quality in Laboratory Medicine: From Errors and Waste to Value-Based Care

To examine where poor laboratory quality generates economic and clinical consequences across the total testing process and to propose a practical framework for identifying preventable waste.This narrative review draws on the focused PubMed/MEDLINE search described in the original submission, reference-list checking, and a separately documented PubMed update performed on September 29, 2026.Eight topic-specific strategies used title/abstract terms and Medical Subject Headings; publications were selected for direct relevance to laboratory quality failure, resource use, test utilization, and value-based care.No pooled analysis or formal risk-of-bias assessment was performed.Preanalytical defects, repeated work, and inappropriate testing consume resources across laboratory and clinical workflows.Published monetary estimates depend on study setting and costing perspective, while evidence on downstream patient outcomes remains less complete.Our conceptual Cost of Poor Laboratory Quality (COPLQ) framework links recurrent, measurable failures to local resource use and clinical consequences.Prospective evaluation is required before it can be used as a validated economic model.