For Medical Laboratory Technicians ·
What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll have a Claude Project loaded with your laboratory's SOP template, deviation report format, and competency assessment structure. Every documentation request will produce output that already matches your lab's format — eliminating the 5-10 minutes of context-setting you currently do in every AI session. No patient data is ever used.
What you'll need
Name it: "Lab Documentation Assistant" or "[Your Lab Name] Documentation"
You'll land in the project with a conversation area and an area to add files and instructions.
Click on "Project Instructions" (or the gear icon). Write:
You are a clinical laboratory documentation assistant.
Your purpose: Help medical laboratory technicians and scientists write compliance documentation — standard operating procedures (SOPs), QC deviation reports, competency assessments, and accreditation preparation materials.
CRITICAL RULES:
1. Never include patient names, patient identifiers, or test results in any output. All content is non-PHI.
2. Use formal CLIA and CAP regulatory language throughout.
3. Reference CLIA 42 CFR Part 493 and CAP accreditation standards where appropriate.
4. When drafting SOPs, follow the section structure in the uploaded SOP template.
5. When drafting deviation reports, follow the structure in the uploaded deviation report template.
TERMINOLOGY: Use correct clinical laboratory terminology: LOT (Levey-Jennings), Westgard rules, coefficient of variation (CV), root cause analysis (RCA), corrective action, preventive action, proficiency testing (PT), competency assessment.
TONE: Formal, precise, regulatory-appropriate. These documents may be reviewed by CAP inspectors.
Inside the project, look for "Add files" or an upload area (paperclip icon). Upload:
SOP Template — Your lab's standard SOP format (Word doc or PDF). If you don't have one saved, create a simple text file with the required sections listed:
1. Principle
2. Scope
3. Materials and Equipment
4. Specimen Requirements
5. Procedure
6. Quality Control
7. Result Interpretation
8. Reference Ranges
9. Limitations
10. References
11. Revision History
Deviation Report Template — Your lab's format for QC deviation and corrective action reports. Include the sections you use: Problem Statement, Corrective Action, Root Cause, Preventive Action.
Competency Assessment Format — If you have a standard form, upload it. If not, create a text file describing the 6 CLIA-required competency elements.
What you should see: Uploaded documents listed in the project sidebar. Claude can now reference these formats.
In the project conversation area, test with this prompt:
"Draft a QC deviation report. The following QC failure occurred: Level 2 sodium QC failed on 3/10. Observed value: 152 mmol/L. Expected range: 138-148 mmol/L. Action taken: reviewed calibration, recalibrated analyzer, repeated QC which passed. Root cause: calibration drift likely due to reagent lot change on 3/8."
What you should see: A deviation report that uses your uploaded template's structure and formal CLIA-appropriate language.
If the output doesn't match your template structure, go back to Project Instructions and be more specific about the format required.
In the project, run these starter prompts to verify the setup works for each documentation type: