My aim was to see how different healthcare science disciplines interact in patient care.
I saw patients with cystic fibrosis and familial hypercholesterolaemia (a genetic lipid disorder) at the Royal Brompton hospital at clinics and followed their samples in the biochemistry, microbiology and genetics departments for diagnosis and management. Using the contacts I made, I conducted a clinical audit into whether patients with suggestive biochemistry, symptoms and family history of familial hypercholesterolaemia were referred for genetic screening.
This has had a practical outcome by changing how high cholesterol results are communicated to clinicians to improve referral rates.
