As clinical labs work to keep up with the growing demand for diagnostic tests, one thing is clear: a shortage of medical lab professionals is not going away anytime soon.
Over the next decade, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects approximately 24 000 openings for clinical laboratory technologists and technicians each year, as many lab professionals exit the labor force to retire.[1] Meanwhile, a growing population of older adults is expected to require increased diagnosing of medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.
Fortunately, there are ways that clinical labs can make up for the unrelenting staffing shortfall while increasing productivity. The answer lies in employing technology that enables labs to work smarter, not harder. Following are seven ways labs can boost their performance in a tight labor market:
1 | Employ vendor-neutral connectivity.
The foundation for a productive clinical lab lies in its infrastructure. Labs that employ vendor-neutral middleware set themselves up for greater efficiencies when it comes to connecting and managing their lab information system (LIS) and instrumentation. This is because vendor-neutral, or agnostic, middleware allows labs to connect any instrument to any LIS, regardless of manufacturer.
Using truly vendor-neutral lab middleware such as Instrument Manager from Data Innovations, labs can manage an unlimited number of instruments and lab sites through a single platform for efficient workflow management. Expanding or changing out instrumentation can also be done more easily, quickly, and cost-efficiently. For example, labs using Instrument Manager pay no additional fees when changing or upgrading instruments after purchasing perpetual, lifetime connections. They can also upgrade or replace devices without disrupting their entire system, resulting in faster time to utilization and the avoidance of costly downtime.
2 | Use autoverification.
Labs that use autoverification of test results improve productivity and turnaround time while freeing up staff to focus on patient care. Autoverification automatically validates and releases “normal” test results without the need for time-consuming manual review. This process uses predefined rules and algorithms to determine if the test results meet certain criteria for accuracy and consistency. Common criteria include reference ranges, critical values, delta checks, and quality control results.
Truly vendor-neutral middleware can achieve exceptionally high rates of autoverification because of the flexibility offered in its rule-writing capabilities. For example, labs using Instrument Manager are able to autoverify up to 95% up their test results. While LIS platforms may offer autoverification functionality, vendor-neutral lab middleware goes further by accommodating more complex, diagnostic rules and automated follow-up actions, such as the automatic triggering of a reflex test based on a patient’s initial test result.
3 | Automate quality-control (QC) processes.
Various QC programs offer automated processes to save labs time while increasing accuracy. One such program enables labs to detect deviations in instrument quality before patient results are affected. Data Innovations’ Moving Averages & Moving Medians software tracks the performance of instruments connected to Instrument Manager middleware. Analyzers that deviate from standard QC parameters are flagged, alerting lab personnel to investigate the instrument(s) and complete any necessary maintenance.
Other programs connect labs to external organizations for automatic peer and QC review. When configured in conjunction with autoverification, test results that pass QC checks are automatically released to the LIS. For results that do not pass QC checks, lab staff can troubleshoot the cause and then manually release the results. An example of this is the Daily & Peer Quality Control module that provides real-time connectivity from Instrument Manager to Bio-Rad Unity Real Time, Technopath IAMQC, or Thermo Scientific LabLink xL. Test results that do not pass QC review trigger a workflow for lab professionals to address. This saves the lab time later by avoiding the need to search for samples, rerun tests and issue corrected reports.
4 | Streamline compliance activities.
Labs also have options for streamlining their compliance efforts. For example, automated lab proficiency reporting enables direct transmission of lab reporting to accreditation agencies such as the College of American Pathologists (CAP). This not only eliminates time-consuming manual reporting, it avoids the chance of manual errors. According to CAP, approximately 40% of proficiency testing errors are clerical, caused by a manual data-entry mistake.
A pilot project involving CompuNet Clinical Laboratories and DI’s Lab Proficiency Reporting solution demonstrated significant time savings for CompuNet’s proficiency testing process. Through CAP’s e-LAB solution that receives data automatically from Instrument Manager, CompuNet’s proficiency reporting process went from 19 steps and hours of a supervisor’s time over two days to about 30 minutes with no manual labor. [2]
Other lab software can expedite instrument performance validation and reporting. The EP Evaluator program streamlines instrument performance validation by performing calculations for more than 100 studies simultaneously. The program also saves time by producing automated, inspector-ready reports that meet requirements of CLIA, CAP, and The Joint Commission.
Sanford Health’s clinical laboratory reported a “huge improvement in productivity” by using EP Evaluator for the lab’s six-month instrument-to-instrument comparison reporting. [3] The time the lab spent on this effort dropped “from 10 hours to 3 seconds with reports that look more professional to inspectors.”
5 | Optimize uptime performance.
According to market research, 73% of laboratorians identified unplanned downtime as the top factor limiting lab productivity.[4] Fortunately, technology solutions to minimize unexpected downtime are now available to clinical labs. A new product called Lab GPS enables lab personnel to optimize operational uptime through connectivity monitoring, notifications, and troubleshooting. With access from any web browser or the Lab GPS phone app, users can monitor and resolve all Instrument Manager, LIS and instrument connection issues even when off-site. Instant troubleshooting tools that bypass the need for IT assistance include one-touch connection restarts and the ability to perform communication traces on connection issues.
One of the first labs to use Lab GPS is the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Scott Davis, informatics specialist at UIHC, reports: “With the Lab GPS mobile app at my fingertips, I’m able to view connection status and last transaction date/time from my pocket wherever I am. Being able to respond immediately to connectivity issues through the mobile app is sure to significantly reduce our lab’s downtime.”
6 | Leverage informatics for operational improvements.
Clinical labs have a lot of moving parts to manage on a daily basis that can affect their productivity. Being able to track key performance indicators such as turnaround time, autoverification rates, QC violations, and tests released per shift can provide important data for examining productivity trends and issues.
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center used informatics software Lab Intelligence to monitor and improve their chemistry laboratory’s productivity on a number of different fronts. Importing real-time Instrument Manager metrics into Lab Intelligence software, the lab monitored sample and test volumes, specimen priority mix, autoverification, and turnaround times on an hourly basis. Using the software’s analytical features to investigate root causes of KPI shortcomings, the lab gleaned a number of insightful discoveries to improve productivity. Some of the changes that Darthmouth Hitchcock made to its operations included matching staffing levels and skills to test volume per shift, adjusting draw times to maximize instrument utilization and improve turnaround time, and providing additional training to phlebotomists for increased hemolytic specimens.[5]
7 | Bolster staffing with vendor expertise.
Using external technical support is another strategy that can aid labs facing staffing constraints. Determine if your middleware or LIS vendors have the technical expertise available to assist your lab with common operational needs. Data Innovations is one middleware company that offers its customers a wide range of technical services to help relieve the workload on lab personnel. Customers can purchase buckets of service hours to assist with error resolution, adding or replacing instruments, system integration support, and setup of complex instrumentation workflows.
DI also offers service packages that provide technical expertise to maximize lab productivity. For example, the Technical Health Check is designed to ensure a lab’s IM platform is optimized for processing lab orders and results while identifying potential technical issues before they turn into disruptions. The AV Workflow Validation service provides end-to-end autoverification validation testing and documentation through Instrument Manager middleware, which can save labs many in-house resource hours, especially for large and complex rulesets.
As healthcare advancements continue adding to the demands placed on clinical laboratories, it’s essential for labs to be able to adapt to this changing landscape while maintaining high standards of performance. Labs that leverage flexible infrastructure, productivity-enhancing technology and external support will be better equipped to meet market demands, even as staffing challenges remain. For more information on solutions that can help your lab succeed today and tomorrow, visit datainnovations.com
About Data Innovations
For 35 years, Data Innovations has provided truly vendor-neutral software and solutions for clinical labs to optimize performance across all disciplines. With key solutions spanning lab connectivity, productivity, quality, performance and reliability, and analytics, Data Innovations is credited with establishing the lab enablement software space and driving vendor-neutral solutions that enable each lab to perform at its best. Serving more than 6 000 hospitals and laboratories in over 80 countries, Data Innovations is known for its unparalleled clinical lab expertise and service, contributing to improved patient care while enabling labs to do more with less.
[1] Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/clinical-laboratory-technologists-and-technicians.htm
[2] Shearer M. How to Reduce Clerical Errors; Run Proficiency Testing As If Testing a Patient Specimen. College of American Pathologists. https://doczz.net/doc/8806870/how-to-reduce-clerical-errors—college-of-american-patho
[3] Sanford Health Case Study. Data Innovations. https://datainnovations.com/sanford-health-case-study/
[4] Understanding Key Challenges and Pain Points in the Global Laboratory Market. Agilent Technologies. 20 juin17. www.agilent.com/content/dam/about/newsroom/infograhics/pdf/fact-sheet-lab-manager.pdf
[5] Darthmouth Hitchcock Lab Analytics Case Study. Data Innovations. https://datainnovations.com/dartmouth-hitchcock-lab-intel/
