Abstract
As computers become more common in toxicology laboratories, the need of handwritten data decreases. The good laboratory practice standards taught the toxicology community to prepare adequate standard operating procedures and how to document all phases of a nonclinical laboratory study.
Have computers helped us with our SOPs or documentation? Maybe. Computers have streamlined many of the mundane tasks in data collection. However, they have also opened up a whole list of problems: data security, data audits, computer-generated backups, technician training and periodic updates, system validation (software, hardware, and data), and “data thieves.”
A system of checks and balances must be developed, implemented, and reviewed constantly to assure the quality of data collected. This cannot be the responsibility of one person or one department but requires input from many, the cooperation of all, and support from management, without which quality would suffer.