Outreach Education

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.

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.

Sales is a vital component of a thriving laboratory outreach program. It requires a unique skill set and a dedicated focus on advocating the value of your laboratory and its ability to deliver reliable, high-quality services to your community. A sales call — an essential sales tactic — can be the difference between a new customer and a lost opportunity, so planning for them is critical.

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 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.

In this episode of Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ “Leveraging the Laboratory” podcast, host Jane Hermansen, outreach manager at Mayo Clinic Laboratories, talks with vice president of sales and services John Heywood about the important role of sales within an outreach program.