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LabOratory Planning for New
Instrumentation / New Tests
By Irwin Z. Rothenberg, MBA, MS, CLS(ASCP), Technical Writer & Quality Advisor for COLA Resources, Inc.
Whether planning a new, start-up laboratory operation, or
performing a cost/benefit analysis of current testing, before
deciding whether to purchase new or replacement instruments,
it is important to do a realistic assessment of not only what you
want to offer your patients, but what you can realistically offer
them. The laboratory’s test menu should be aligned as closely
as possible with physician expectations and needs, as well as the
laboratory’s operational capabilities.
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By strengthening their relationships with ordering
physicians, laboratories can more accurately forecast future
service needs and make the best decisions as to test menu,
instrumentation, and staffing, including which tests to outsource
or maintain in-house. These relationships are vital as strategic
assets, and, as the demands on physicians continue to multiply,
they will increasingly rely on their laboratory partners for
diagnostic support. Physicians increasingly seek a diagnostic
resource that can meet all of their testing needs.
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The planning process for adding new tests and new
instrumentation begins with asking the following
baseline questions regarding your present or
proposed laboratory operation:
• What is your laboratory classification? (physician office,
reference, hospital, mobile, clinic, etc.)
• What are your patient population demographics? (related
to client physician specialties represented)
• Physician specialties?
• What are your anticipated test volumes / demand for
specific tests?
• What is the complexity of testing already performed or
planned? (waived vs. non-waived, with attendant
regulatory requirements, including personnel)
• What are your present hours of operation with attendant
staffing levels / testing performed per shift / committed
turn-around times?
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