Articles

A pathologist’s collaboration with the outreach team and referring physicians strengthens the program and provides the best service for patients.

With updates expected to federal compliance guidance for laboratories in 2025, now is a great time to revisit existing guidelines and plans.

While preparation is key to mitigating risk, inevitably, there are unforeseen circumstances that will impact operations. Here are four ways the outreach laboratory can swiftly manage operational surprises in real time.

Unexpected events in the laboratory are an inevitability of the profession. The difference in whether it is manageable or chaotic comes down to the steps taken beforehand. By proactively preparing, you can drastically reduce the number of unknown variables to continue laboratory and outreach operations under less-than-ideal circumstances.

As the phlebotomist ventures farther from the hospital or formal outpatient setting, there are many new facets to consider. Remote phlebotomy is a patient-focused activity and can be a successful attribute for an outreach program when deployed and supported effectively.

With changes in technology, medical practice, and market trends, and the expansion of health system services, the laboratory test menu can be ever in flux. It is essential that the laboratory test menu keeps up with trends, remaining responsive to customer needs, and may even embrace innovation to improve patient care. Consider these five steps to optimize your test menu to meet outreach customer needs.

Presented by Mayo Clinic Laboratories, "Leveraging the Laboratory: Seize Tomorrow" is an essential conference for health system executives, industry experts, and hands-on managers looking to advance their laboratory outreach programs.

In a constrained staffing environment, how can an outreach program effectively meet customer needs? Through creativity, collaboration, and shared services, there can be multiple solutions to provide the support needed by the laboratory staff and the people they serve.

When patients are tasked with collecting specimens at home, the procedure can require special timing, collection steps, or storage conditions. If these aren’t clearly communicated to the patient beforehand, it can lead to confusion and unnecessary frustration. A laboratory can set up its patients for success by managing expectations when home collections are necessary. These steps can help ensure a successful experience for both patients and laboratory staff.

The most successful laboratory outreach programs recognize the importance of serving multiple customers. From provider to patient to healthcare consumer, the laboratory has an opportunity to serve them all with high-quality results and excellent service. When aligning testing with community awareness and patient needs, the laboratory outreach program can strategically plan for future success.

With many organizations using a digital-first approach, it is easy to assume that is always the best option. But is it? And what about for your laboratory outreach program? Laboratories should consider these seven S’s when deciding whether connectivity will align with the goals of their outreach programs.

Depending on the types of specimens that are referred to the outreach laboratory, there may be an opportunity to share a customer performance update report with the client so that they can align with, or even develop their own laboratory continuous improvement initiatives. This data-sharing provides valuable metrics and allows the client an opportunity to improve their services. Through identifying issues and working together to resolve them, the customer and the laboratory are aligned in their mission of putting the needs of the patient first.

In a competitive outpatient testing market, choosing a laboratory is discretionary. With the goal of becoming the laboratory of choice for discretionary outpatient testing, it no longer matters if it is called “inreach” or “outreach.” While these terms may be decent descriptors for a process, they do not begin to describe the true value of this critical community laboratory activity. The value of a laboratory outreach program spans all areas of relevance for a health system. Through supporting clinical integration and community health initiatives, the laboratory is a critical element, enabled and supported by a successful outreach activity.