R. Ross Reichard, M.D., Featured in CAP Today

By Molly Dee • August 2, 2019

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R. Ross Reichard, M.D., DLMP Vice Chair of Quality and Associate Chair of Practice, recently contributed to a College of American Pathologists (CAP) article in CAP Today. The article, "How the Laboratory Drives Patient Satisfaction," explores the myriad ways laboratories can monitor and improve the patient experience.

“Laboratory medicine and pathology touches patients in nearly every aspect of their care,” said Dr. Reichard. “The results are often key to the diagnosis and management of the patient.”

Mayo Clinic tracks metrics from its laboratory information system (LIS) to keep on top of patient satisfaction. These include wait times for each outpatient collection area, with a goal of having 80 percent of patients called within 15 minutes to give their specimens. This places an emphasis on reducing redraw rates.

Patient satisfaction surveys also play a role in improving the patient experience. "Reichard said the paper surveys get much better response rates than online surveys. Patients are asked about the demeanor and professionalism of front-line staff, whether the work area is organized and clean and how long they waited. The patients’ subjective sense of their wait time can be compared with the information system’s tracking."

Read the full article and learn about the focus on reducing redraws in CAP Today.

Molly Dee

Molly Larsen is the Web Content Coordinator at Mayo ClinicLaboratories. She is responsible for internal and external communications pertaining to the website and information technology, as well as editing content on MayoClinicLabs.com. She has worked at Mayo Clinic since 2015. Outside of work, Molly enjoys working out, reading, Harry Potter trivia, and spending time with her family and friends, including Seamus, the labrador/mastiff puppy.