Outreach

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.

Situated in a sprawling geographic region in mid-Missouri, Boone Health expanded its reach to improve access to high-quality holistic care throughout the area, improving the health of community members and increasing net revenue along the way.

In this episode of Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ “Leveraging the Laboratory” podcast, host Jane Hermansen, outreach manager at Mayo Clinic Laboratories, speaks with outreach solutions strategists Ellen Dijkman Dulkes and Brianne Newton. Their discussion focuses on advocating for the laboratory, lab careers, and the value of lab testing.

PACE / State of FL - In this webinar we'll address the critical role of planning to support innovation and transformation in today's laboratory outreach environment, particularly related to Information Technology initiatives. The pandemic has accelerated the need for efficient workflows and digital solutions, and the laboratory outreach program needs to keep up. We'll delve into practical tools and insightful strategies to help you navigate the challenges related to implementing these initiatives in your laboratory.

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.

In this episode of Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ “Leveraging the Laboratory” podcast, host Jane Hermansen, outreach manager at Mayo Clinic Laboratories, speaks with Dan Nelson, a Mayo Clinic contract employee and laboratory connectivity expert. They discuss the unique needs and challenges that outreach labs face with information technology (IT) systems.

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.

In this episode of Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ “Leveraging the Laboratory” podcast, host Jane Hermansen, outreach manager at Mayo Clinic Laboratories, speaks with outreach solutions strategists Ellen Dijkman Dulkes and Brianne Newton. They discuss how an outreach program can work with its customers on process improvements by using periodic visits and data-driven discussions.

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 this episode of Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ “Leveraging the Laboratory” podcast, host Jane Hermansen, outreach manager at Mayo Clinic Laboratories, talks with Erin Hoffman, division director of hospital sales and services at Mayo Clinic Laboratories. They discuss the value of the hospital laboratory, the challenges and opportunities facing community labs today, and how to have impactful conversations with hospital leadership.

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.

In this episode of Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ “Leveraging the Laboratory” podcast, host Jane Hermansen, outreach manager at Mayo Clinic Laboratories, talks with Shannon Bennett, director of regulatory affairs for the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic. They discuss the complex and changing environment of laboratory industry regulations.

With all the preparations required to ready a clinical laboratory for regulatory inspection, it can be easy to overlook offsite testing locations, especially those performing CLIA-waived tests. Hospital laboratories with a CLIA Certificate of Compliance or Certificate of Accreditation may also oversee waived testing sites, and it is important to remember that those locations have as much potential for citations as the larger testing departments. Remember to give these five key areas special attention during inspection preparation.